


The Last Padawans

by korben600



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Background Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I just want them to be friends, Post-Order 66, Star Wars won't give me the fluff so I must make due, more like, not too much angst tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23919340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/korben600/pseuds/korben600
Summary: A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, three padawans survived Order 66. And then Lucasfilm has us believe that in all the time they spent flitting around the galaxy setting the Empire on fire, they never once all met together?Well, in the event that Lucasfilm never gets around to showing their hijinks, here's my take on it!Fic is inspired by annarasumanara who started this crazy idea.And this fic is dedicated to shipambrosia_bree whose thirst for Kanan Jarrus and Cal Kestis fueled this madness.(Tags might be added later as relevant because tagging things is annoying)
Relationships: Cal Kestis & Ahsoka Tano, Cal Kestis & Kanan Jarrus & Ahsoka Tano, Cal Kestis/Merrin, Kanan Jarrus & Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus & Cal Kestis, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 99
Kudos: 268





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> It starts in medias res because starting at the beginning would be more work. Also, the timeline will be a bit screwy for the purposes of story. Hope you all enjoy!

“So, gimme a feel for this jedi.” Greez said quickly. 

“What do you mean?” Cal said curiously, and Kanan tilted his head in confusion at the diminutive pilot.

Greez pointed to the tall Torgruta showing Ezra her lightsaber on the other side of the cramped spaceship. 

“I mean, you guys _knew_ her, right? Help me out here.” 

The two former padawans raised their eyebrows simultaneously. 

“I wouldn’t say we _knew_ Ahsoka...” Cal said while Kanan started saying something like “It was more of a casual acquaintance thing at best…”

Their four-armed pilot gave a bit of grimace and his two lower arms made a pleading gesture. 

“Come on, you can’t give me _anything_?” He said, pleading. 

“It’s been years!” Cal protested. 

“Seriously, people change a lot from the Jedi Temple.” Kanan added on. 

“Come on, you have to know _something_ .” He continued.” “Every Jedi I’ve ever met is crazy as _banthashit_ , I just want to know what flavor of crazy she is so I’m prepared.”

The two Jedi just gave him deadpan looks in annoyance, before locking eyes with each other. 

A whole silent conversation passed between the two and by the end of it, both had identical mischievous looks on their faces. 

Kanan silently gestured for Cal to take the lead, and the ginger smirked. 

“Alright…” Cal started, placing a hand on Greez’s shoulder to calm him. “You know how in every school, there’s the teacher’s pet?”

“Yeah?” 

“You know, the one kid who’s attached at the hip to their master, never questions them?” Cal continued as Kanan snickered slightly

“Uh-huh?”

“...hangs on their every word, once called their master ‘Mom’ in front of a roomful of council members?” Cal finished, as Kanan paused, and cocked his head in confusion. “Wait, hang on-” 

“So that’s Ahsoka?” Greez said excitedly. 

“Nope. That was _Kanan_!” Cal said with a laugh as Kanan lightly punched him in the side. 

“Shut up Kestis.” Kanan growled. “And that only happened _once_!” 

“It was _so_ funny though!” Cal said, barely able to contain his chuckles. “The whole _council_ was there, I _swear to god,_ I saw Master Windu call her ‘Momma Billaba’ _weeks_ afterwards.” 

Greez snickered slightly, and Kanan quickly dropped to a knee and wrapped an arm around the pilot’s shoulders. 

“Don’t listen to that lying idiot.” Kanan said, pushing Cal away from them. “Okay, so, you know the one really weird kid who’s always there in the class?” 

“Yeah?” Greez said uncertainly. 

“You know, the kind of weird kid who would do literally anything on a bet?” Kana continued as Cal nodded approvingly.

Greez nodded, looking a little sheepish.

“You know, the kind of idiot who was always obsessed with climbing random things?” 

Cal paused in his nodding.

“Oh, _yeah_ , I had one of those in the academy, _total_ weirdo who would just crawl up any surface if you left him alone, hell of a pilot though.” Greez said with some recognition. “Wait,” He paused, looking at the regal Torgruta Jedi who was now showing Ezra another basic kata. “Is _that_ what Ahsoka was like?” 

“ _Hell_ no, that was Kestis!” Kanan broke off with a laugh. “He once got stuck in a smoke exhaust pipe with a fatsuit, a red robe, and a bag of toys! He was stuck there for _hours_ before Master Topal got him out.” 

“Hey! I was bringing joy to the children of Coruscant!” Cal protested, but Kanan waved him off. 

“Sure you were, Ginger Bandit.” Kanan smirked as Cal playfully elbowed him. 

“Hey, _guys_ !” Greez interrupted. “Ahsoka, _please_?”

Once again, the two shared an inscrutable look, before Kanan started with a completely serious look. 

“Okay, you know the one _crazy_ kid in the class?”

“Oh no.” Greez started in fear. 

“The absolutely _banthashit_ student?” Cal continued. 

“The person that wrecks a speeder every other week?”

“ _Please_ don’t tell me-” 

“The kind of crazy that gets into lightsaber fights on the front lawn?” 

“The kind of crazy that crashes dreadnoughts into Coruscant?” 

Greez looked like he was about to pass out. “ _Please_ tell me that was not Ahsoka.”

Kanan and Cal smirked at him. 

“ _Nope_!” They said in unison, and their diminutive pilot relaxed slightly. 

“That was her _Master_.” Cal emphasized. 

“Ahsoka was _worse_.” Kanan said with a snicker as the blood drained from Greez’s face. 

“I heard they assigned her to him to punish him.” The ginger jedi added. 

“Oh, I can believe that, Mace looked like he was going to have a _stroke_ every time he heard the name ‘Skywalker’.” 

By that point Greez had to interrupt. “But-but, that was _years_ ago, right? She’s had to have mellowed out by now, right?” 

Both of them gave him deadpan looks. 

“Oh god…” 

“5 credits says she blows something up.” Cal adds helpfully. 

“Too generic. 10 says she cuts a door off the Mantis.” Kanan shoots back. 

“Deal!” Cal said with a smirk, as Greez looked at them in horror. 

“You...you guys are joking, right? She’s not gonna cut my _baby_ , right?” He said with apprehension. 

Kanan just quietly gestured behind Greez, who turned to see Ahsoka waving her lightsaber in front of Ezra. 

With a flourish, her saber flew, slicing a hypothetical enemy to pieces, but Greez only saw how her lightsaber flowed so close to the walls the blue light traced a line across the metal. 

“AAAAHHHHHHHH” He squealed, running at the Jedi, waving all four of his hands in front of him. “NO! DON’T YOU DARE HURT MY BABY, YOU CRAZY JEDI!!!!”

Ahsoka started, deactivating her blade and turning to the hysterical navigator, noticing his apparent disquiet, as well as the two jedi behind him who were almost doubled over holding in their laughter. She snickered, and kneeled so she was at the head height of her host. 

“Hello there, you must be the owner of this fine ship.” She said evenly as Ezra slowly backed away from the conversation.

“Oh, uh, yeah...that’s me.” He said as all four of his arms began to move uncertainly. “I’m Greez, this is the Mantis.” 

“She looks to be a wonderful ship. Definitely one of the smoother hyperspace rides I’ve had.” She said, giving the rest of the ship an appraising look. “You should be proud of her.”

“Th-thank you.” He said, utterly confused. 

She looked him in the eyes. “I will do everything in my power to keep from harming your ship. I was trying to show Ezra here some katas, but I didn’t realize it would cause you distress. I promise to practice outside of the ship from now on.” 

“That...that would be great, thank you!” He got out sheepishly. “I gotta...I gotta go check the hyperspace...thing…”

“No problem.” She said with a congenial smile, as he walked away, stopping at the two idiots who had almost fallen over snickering. 

“I’m sorry, did you forget to mention that she’s the _nicest jedi I’ve ever met_?!??!!” He whispered at them angrily, which only caused both of them to bowl over laughing. 

“Oh my god, your _face_!” Cal barely got out, his arm on Kanan’s shoulder the only thing that kept him from falling. 

Kanan was barely better, wheezing as he held onto a bulkhead for support. 

“The sheer _fear_ like she was gonna cut his ship in half, oh that was priceless.” 

Greez pouted as the two jedi slowly stopped laughing. “Alright, truth, what was she _really_ like back at the temple?”

They finally managed to get control again, slightly, and they raised their eyebrows at him. 

“What are you talking about, we weren’t lying.” Cal said, with a look of confusion. 

“Yeah, Ahsoka was the nicest padawan I’ve ever met.” Kanan said with a shrug. “She was _still_ banthashit insane though.”

“You’re jedi, you’re all _insane_.” Greez ground out, trying to maintain his pout. 

“I mean, _yeah_.” Cal shrugged sheepishly. 

“But like, Ahsoka was on another _level_.” Kanan added. 

Greez just stared at him in disbelief. 

Cal put his hands up in defense. “Hey! I’m not joking, I heard she once lost her lightsaber and had to break up an assasination attempt to get it back.”

“I heard it was a gun-running deal.” 

“Maybe both?” 

“What do you think, Greez?” 

Both finally turned to the pilot, who was just looking at them with exasperation.

“What?”

He just rolled his eyes, walking to the cockpit. “Ask two Jedi a question and you get three different answers…” 

“ _What_?” Cal said , confused.

“Hey!” Kanan chimes in, both of them looking at his retreating back in annoyance. 

“Uh, hello?” came a feminine voice behind them, causing them to both freeze. 

They turned around to see Ahsoka standing behind them, arms crossed, eyebrow raised in curiosity. 

“So...you two are Jedi?”


	2. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal and Kanan finally get a chance to talk to the Torgruta Jedi they found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know Kanan met Ahsoka in Rebels. This AU is going to go with a different direction. All you need to know is that she didn't arrive on the Mantis with Kanan, and they have not met prior to this point. Sort of. 
> 
> Just roll with it, I'm tweaking the timeline a bit, and will continue to do so for the purposes of DRAMA. XD

“So...you two are Jedi?”

The question. So innocent, back in the time of the Republic. But in the age of Empire, it was less of a question, and more of a _threat_. 

No matter how soft the voice delivering it was. 

Cal’s hands were by his hips, with forced casualness. 

Kanan had forgone casual in favor of defensively crossing his arms. 

Ahsoka looked the most at ease out of all of them, but her inquisitive posture belied the fact that her fingers were absentmindedly stroking her lightsaber. 

Realizing they were looking at the lightsaber she was tapping, Ahsoka gestured to Cal’s weapon at his hip, and Kanan’s lightsaber disassembled on his belt “I mean, we obviously all have lightsabers.” Ahsoka continued, the ghostly sighs of Obi Wan Kenobi urging her to bulldoze the awkward silence in their midst.

However, even having seen each other’s lightsabers, they _all_ were well aware how dangerous that question was in this day and age. 

But…

* * *

_As padawans, they’d grown up in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Despite the hustle and bustle of the trillions of beings inhabiting the system, the Temple was always serene. Partially because of reasonable architecture, partially because the Temple was a natural focus for the Light Side of the Force. The thousands of Jedi within its walls shone bright in the Light, illuminating space for sectors surrounding Coruscant._

_Leaving such a place was often a slight shock for younglings, but even leaving the radiance of the temple to travel to the farthest corners of the galaxy, the light side was still there. It infused the galaxy with, if not warmth, then a kind of luminescence. The Force could not melt away the traumas of the Clone Wars, but it at least offered comfort that if any errant younglings became lost, they could always use the lights to find their way home._

_Until one day, those lights went out._

* * *

Surprisingly, it was Cal who made the first move, holding out his hand, which Ahsoka graciously accepted. 

“I’m Cal Kestis. We...we met a _long_ time ago.” 

“Ahsoka Tano. I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s alright.” Kanan interrupted, getting over his apprehension in the face of awkwardness. He held out his own hand that Ahsoka quickly shook. “We were a bit young. My name is Kanan Jarrus, but back at the Temple, I was-I was Caleb Dume. Master Billaba’s Padawan.” 

Ahsoka released his hand and her brow furrowed in confusion. 

“Cal Kestis and Caleb Dume? I’m sorry, I don’t…” 

The two human jedi smiled forlornly. 

“It’s alright.” Cal said quietly. 

“We were younglings at the time.” Kanan finished. 

But there was something in their faces. Some sadness that made Ahsoka almost offended at the failure of her own memory.

* * *

_Every creature in the galaxy is entirely unique, and wholly special, in the eyes of the Force..._

* * *

“Really, it’s-” 

Ahsoka hardened her expression and reached out her hand. Fingers splayed open, her eyelids shut, and she _reached_ out with the Force. 

Kanan started and looked at Cal in shock, only to realize that Cal had already copied Ahsoka’s movements and by the looks of it, was concentrating on her intently. 

Kanan smiled ruefully. 

“Eh, in for a penny, in for a pound. She’s already seen our lightsabers anyway.” 

He splayed out his fingers, closed his eyes, and let the Force flow through him. 

All of their shields were impressive. They had to be, to survive this long. Their mental walls blocked themselves off from detection as much as they did from their connection to the Force.

But they slowly began to open up to the Force. And as they opened up, more and more, their fingers drew closer and closer together. 

Faintly, the three could hear rustling around them, almost like something was flowing around them, but none could tell if it was something flying around in the Mantis, or the blood rushing through their ears.

Kanan could _feel_ them around him. He could _feel_ their presences next to him. 

They felt so strange, so foreign. Everything was different, he...he almost couldn’t recognize them anymore in the Force.

But something deep inside him howled in happiness. 

Because with every layer they brought down, despite the changes, despite the scars, the two jedi beside him felt _so_ familiar.

Their fingers touched. 

And the world around them stopped spinning, even the blood rushing through their ears fell into silence.

* * *

_“Cal, come on!” Caleb, the boy who would be known as “Kanan Jarrus” whispered at his friend in the kitchen, as he frantically scanned the hallway for adults._

_“I’m going, I’m going!” Cal whispered back at him as he hopped on another kitchen appliance, almost slipping as he caught himself._

_“Someone’s going to come…” Dume said, as he was still on lookout._

_“Got it!” the ginger youngling cried out as he held up the jar of cookies._

_“It’s the right kind, right?” Caleb said suspiciously. After all, there was no point in going to all this trouble for something like sweet-sand cookies._

_“Hang on!” Cal said as he popped the lid, and tried reaching into it one handed. After a second, he pulled his hand out and smiled._

_“Wookie cookies! Score!” Cal said, whooping slightly, before yelping._

_Dume turned just in time to see his friend to topple off the edge of the cabinet from the instability of handling a jar far too large for his size. He tensed and froze as Cal tumbled off the cabinet well above their heads, and he closed his eyes as Cal passed the bottom of the cabinet and approached the height of the countertop. He waited for the telltale crash of the cookie container, or the yelp of his partner in crime._

_But no sound came. He looked up, and found Cal, happily munching on a Wookie Cookie, floating a good yard above the ground. At his look of confusion, Cal pointed to the doorway, where an orange torgruta girl was holding out one of her hands, keeping Cal off the ground with the Force, while the other braced herself against the doorway._

_The teenager strained slightly under the weight of the child, but she found it in herself to raise an eyebrow in disappointment at them._

_“...we’re in so much trouble, aren’t we?” Caleb said sheepishly._

_“That depends.” the girl said with a slight smirk. “What kind of cookies you got?”_

_Cal and Caleb looked at each other in surprise, and shrugged._

_“Wookie Cookies.” Cal said suspiciously, as he hugged the tin in midair._

_“Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.” Ahsoka said as she gently brought Cal to the ground, huffing in slight exhaustion, and sitting on the floor when she finally finished. “Split those three ways, and I’ll teach you how to steal Master Fisto’s cookie tins with the Force instead of climbing.”_

_The two younglings looked at each other, before smiling broadly and turning back to her. “Deal!”_

* * *

Ahsoka pulled her hand back and opened her eyes. 

“...Cal, Caleb?” Ahsoka said, looking at them again with fresh eyes, barely able to breathe, one of her hands going to her mouth in shock while the other stayed out, unresponding. 

Cal shook off his reverie quicker than his fellow former padawan. “Yeah. It’s us.” 

Kanan smiled quietly. “It’s good to see you again, Ahsoka.” he said ruefully, placing a hand on hers in understanding.

* * *

_Every creature in the galaxy is entirely unique, and wholly special, in the eyes of the Force..._

_...and Ahsoka Tano._

* * *

“Oh, come here, you kriffing idiots.”

Ahsoka launched herself at the two ex-padawans, almost bowling them over, and causing her lekku to slap into her back from the force. She buried them in a hug, dragging the two closer together. 

“Uhhh...Ahsoka-” Kanan started, but Ahsoka growled into him. “-shut up and take the damn hug.” Kanan tried to look to Cal for direction, but found the man had already reciprocated, and wrapped his arms around the Torgruta when he wasn’t looking. 

Kanan sighed in resignation, and acceptance, before he too wrapped his arms around his friends. 

“I-” Cal started, his voice was barely audible and his expression masked from both of them, but his emotions bled off his words “-I thought I lost _everyone_ from the temple.” 

“Not everyone.” Ahsoka said quietly. “We’re still here.” She whispered as she pulled him a little tighter, hand gripping his hair in sympathy. 

There were there for a few seconds of silence, when Ahsoka whispered into Kanan’s ear. 

“I...I didn’t know her well. But I _am_ sorry for what happened to your Master. Depa was a good woman.” 

Kanan was lucky neither Cal nor Ahsoka could see him at the moment, as something very un-Jedi-like was leaking from his eyes. 

“She was the **best**." He whispered through his tears, and he got a faint squeeze in response. 

And they stayed there. For just a little while longer. Holding onto each other.

* * *

_One day, all the brightest lights in the galaxy went out._

_But the errant younglings found their way home anyway._


	3. Lit Swords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal and Kanan find themselves trying to pass the time planetside, and things...escalate...slightly.

“That sounds like it could a bad idea.” Cal said with an uneasy look on his face.

“Why? You scared?” Chirped a voice from the side. As one, the two ex-padawans, who had previously focused their conversation on each other, turned to Ezra, who was sitting next to Merrin, happily snacking, with the audible crunch echoing awkwardly in the clearing.

“It’s not about being scared…” The ginger Jedi crossed his arms in annoyance. “Lightsaber sparring is no light subject. Even with our sabers dialed down, one wrong move and we could get seriously injured.” 

Kanan nodded in agreement. “Yeah, if Cal here hasn’t kept up his skills he could end up hurting himself.” 

Cal started and glared at him. “ _My_ skills are fine.” 

“I never said you were worse than you were back at the temple.” The other Jedi said evenly, refusing to look at Cal directly as the ginger jedi narrowed his eyes. 

“ _Hey…_ ” He started, Kanan’s smirk just starting to form, before Merrin interrupted. 

“Sounds like you’re scared, to me.” She said, just as evenly.

In the intervening silence, she slowly reached into Ezra’s snack box and took a loud, crunchy bite of popcorn.

“...” Cal sighed. “Fine.” 

“YEAH!” Ezra shouted, sitting up straight and shoveling another handful of popcorn into his face. 

“Lay off the snacks, Padawan.” Kanan said offhandedly, as he and Cal moved to opposite sides of the clearing. 

Ezra just as offhandedly gave him a thumbs up as his face was stuffed with popcorn. 

* * *

_Form 1: **Shii-Cho** _

_The oldest, and most basic of lightsaber forms. Originating when the Jedi still used vibroblades, it is not well suited to the lightsaber. Nonetheless, the simplicity of the form means that it is taught to every youngling as the foundation of the rest of their lightsaber training._

* * *

The two jedi stood opposite each other in the empty clearing. The planet they’d landed on was pristine, unknown and untouched by the outer galaxy, just as any good Rebel rendezvous should be. 

This natural environment surrounding them was at the edge of a beautiful temperate forest, with a climate in the earlier morning _just_ wet enough to lend a light mist to the environment, and caused a slight haze on the various mossy cliffsides around them. 

Kanan unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, and activated it, the blue standing out against the green and dull brown-orange surroundings, and reflecting on his green armored pauldron. 

Cal copied the move, pulling it out from under his blue poncho, and activating it, his own energy blade a darker shade of blue than Kanan’s. 

The two moved towards each other slowly, Cal’s hands never leaving his lightsaber, firmly keeping it up in the standard “ready position” that Kanan similarly had.

They were then feet from each other when Cal struck at Kanan. A simple blow, an overhand swing towards his right shoulder. 

Blocked. 

Cal was focused, and his body moved into the textbook example of another offensive strike, this time at Kanan’s other shoulder. 

Blocked again. 

The ginger jedi continued attacking Kanan, his attacks continuing to be the same, simple, moves as before, fluid, but in the way of a metronome, with each occurring with precise timing after the other. 

Swing for the left hip, swing for the leg on the other side, swing for the right shoulder again, overhead strike for his head. 

Blocked, blocked, blocked, blocked, with smooth, nearly detached efficiency. 

Then Cal paused, taking a quick step backwards.

* * *

_Those who have devoted their entire lives to the blade are naturally gifted at breaking down fighting styles. An experienced Jedi is often, at a glance, able to identify not only the fighting style, but occasionally personality traits, or even the teacher of their opponents._

* * *

Kanan’s eyes narrowed. 

Cal went on the offensive again, releasing another several smooth, but slow, and _telegraphed_ swings.

Swing, swing, swing...

Kanan began to scowl, and he began muttering under his breath. 

“One, two, three…”

A swing to the leg, and a swing to the shoulder passed uneventfully. 

“Four, Five-”

It was on a strike towards the head that Kanan struck, his lightsaber blurring to connect with Cal’s strike head-on.

* * *

_Form II: **Makashi** _

_Makashi is a graceful form of combat, that relies on balance and footwork to outmaneuver their opponent._

* * *

This time, when Cal stepped back, it was an involuntary movement borne from Kanan’s violent parry, and Kanan pressed forward, with quick glancing blows that kept Cal off his guard, barely repelling the strikes until finally Kanan managed to twirl his opponent’s lightsaber in a complex maneuver that ended with the lightsaber skittering away into the damp dirt, and similarly landing Cal on his ass.

* * *

_Practitioners of Form II generally use only one hand to grip a lightsaber, and mastery of the form allows users to disarm their opponent without killing them._

* * *

Cal sat up to find the blue blade less than a lightsaber hilt’s length from his face. 

“Do not treat me like a youngling, and I won’t hand you your ass like a padawan, _Kestis_ .” Kanan said with annoyance, as he continued pointing his lightsaber at him. “I’ve _seen_ you fight before. You’re better than this.”

The ginger jedi looked at the blade with a hint of sheepishness. 

“Sorry.” He smiled abashedly, “I was worried you were a bit rusty, so I figured I’d go easy on you at first.” he finished, before pausing at something out of the corner of his eye. He turned from Kanan and his still unsheathed blade, to their small pair of onlookers instead, quickly shaking his head no, with a worried expression and making a motion to calm down with his hands. 

Kanan turned to see Merrin standing up from her seat, green smoke clouding her hands and eyes, as she glared at him with a gaze that could kill a small animal. Meanwhile, Ezra seemed to be pleading with her not to rush into the clearing and lop his master’s head off. 

“Uh, Kanan?” Cal said quickly, “you mind?” gesturing to the still lit blade holding him at swordpoint. 

“Oh, crap, sorry.” Kanan said, quickly deactivating the blade. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Merrin slowly calm the smoke swirling around her, and sit down with Ezra with a grumble, mollified, now that she knew Kanan wasn’t going to skewer her friend. 

“My bad,” Kanan continued, as Cal sat up more comfortably in the dirt. “But listen, I’m not sparring to just rehash the basics. I’m trying to _teach_ my snack addicted padawan over there. I _know_ you’re better than this.” 

Kanan coughed, embarrassed, and lowered his voice slightly. “Plus, if I don’t get a proper workout I’ll go mad _days_ before Hera arrives to pick us up.”

Cal nodded silently as Kanan continued, moving past the awkward pauses. “Don’t hold back, show me what you got, and we _both_ might learn something, okay?” 

Kanan held out his hand to help the jedi up.

Cal seemed to pause in thought before shrugging. 

“Yeah, alright, I’ll be happy to kick your ass.”

Kanan rolled his eyes as the ginger jedi grabbed his hand. For a second he froze like he was electrified, and when he continued to stand he almost fell over.

He paused as Cal lurched slightly in front of him, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

“You alright, Cal?”

“I...I’m fine, Dume.”

Kanan scowled in annoyance. “It’s _Kanan_ , Cal. Kanan Jarrus. You say that other name and you’re gonna get me killed.”

But the slightly exhausted look on Cal’s face calmed him, and Jarrus leaned over to inspect him closer. 

Kestis waved him off, breathing slowly. 

“Hey, if you’re not feeling up for this…” Kanan started but he was cut off. 

Cal’s lightsaber flew to his hand, landing with a soft smack that reverberated across the courtyard. 

When Kanan looked back to his sparring partner, the jedi had removed his poncho, swinging it off of him, revealing a rugged, and much more form fitting, blue scrapper uniform, with a leather vest strapped to his chest. 

A quick button press and the poncho was compressed into a small capsule and stored in his belt. 

“Alright.” Cal said, voice slightly shaky, but gaze focused. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

_Form III: **Soresu** _

_Soresu is the ultimate expression of the Jedi’s defensive philosophy, with this form being exceptionally good at repelling blaster bolts and lightsabers alike._

* * *

The two jedi circled each other with forced casualness. 

Kanan, for his part, was acting the exact same as he was the previous bout, two hands on his hilt, eyes locked on Cal, arms in the textbook ready position hammered into both of them by Master Yoda. 

Cal’s body language, on the other hand, was completely different from their last fight. He twirled his lightsaber carelessly in one hand, the dark blue blade arcing in figure eights around him as he rolled his shoulders. 

Finally, Cal ran a hand through his hair, pushing it farther up, as his body tensed slightly in anticipation. 

Kanan’s grip tightened on his saber, and Cal’s eyes narrowed. 

The most adequate descriptor for his movement was that Cal _blurred_ across the small clearing, in one second being yards away from Kanan, and in the next within a half foot of his fellow Jedi, his lightsaber coming down on his opponent.

* * *

_In the waning days of the Republic, Depa Billaba was considered a Master in Soresu, rivaled only by the great Obi Wan Kenobi himself._

_Kanan was a_ **_very_ ** _good student._

* * *

When Cal had slowed down to deliver his strike, he found Kanan’s lightsaber waiting for him. 

Cal quickly followed up on his initial attack, unleashing a barrage of hacks aimed towards Kanan’s torso. His opponent responded with an equally unrelenting number of lightsaber swipes to block them. 

Kanan then sent a probing stab Kestis’s way, and the ginger Jedi took the opportunity to execute a combat roll away from his fellow jedi. 

Not giving Kanan enough time to gain the initiative, he lunged forward. 

Only, as he lunged forward he leaped into the air, and with a minute flick of his finger, a second dark azure blade shot out of the other end of his lightsaber.

* * *

_Form VI: **Niman** _

_Niman was developed in order to combine many of the previous forms into one, centralized fighting technique. In merging the previous forms, Form VI became the first form that did not have a signature fighting technique, but also the first form that did not have a particular weakness. This flexibility of style makes it ideal for Force users who wielded atypical lightsabers._

_Jaro Topal, wielding a dual bladed saber, used an aggressive and brutal variant of Niman to great effect during the Clone Wars._

_Due to the war, and Order 66, he never got the chance to teach Cal the specifics of his unique fighting style, or how to use a dual bladed saber._

_Thanks to his Psychometry, that fact has not hampered Cal’s combat skills in the slightest._

* * *

With an overhead slash, Kanan was pushed back slightly, and Cal kept up the pressure with both sides of his lightsaber whirling at his opponent. 

Not as powerful as the single blade strikes, the dual blades made up for it in sheer speed of their assault, pummelling Kanan with hits from every conceivable direction. 

Even for someone seasoned in battle, this barrage wore the Jedi down, and he could barely keep up with the hits, until Cal finally raised his lightsaber over his head. 

He spun the dark azure blades over his head in circles, and brought them downward, the spin simplifying Kanan’s blocks to come from only one side, but the centripetal force of the assault almost stunning the man. 

Finally, he couldn’t take the hit, and on the last spin, Kanan did a backwards combat roll to give himself breathing room. 

He paused, centering himself in the Force, and looked up to find Cal blurring again towards him. 

But this time, something drew his eye to his opponent’s lightsaber. Cal’s hands were twisting both ends of his lightsaber.

In slow motion, Kanan saw Cal split his dual bladed lightsaber in two, before both ends came for him.

* * *

_In addition to the seven major Lighstaber Styles, there are sub-variants of varying degrees of legitimacy. Perhaps the most famous is…_

**_Jar’Kai_ **

_Jar’Kai is the blanket term for variants of lightsaber style dedicated to dual wielding._

_Wielding two blades makes this style very offensively oriented, and for inexperienced fighters, it is extremely difficult to defend against._

_Jar’Kai requires intense concentration to be utilized properly, even from experienced practitioners, to the point where some masters of the style choose to forsake it, despite the benefits in combat, as they feel the willpower necessary to use the style detracts from their connection to the Force._

_Cal Kestis gets around that drawback by limiting his use of Jar’Kai to quick bursts of dual bladed attacks that maximize the damage he can inflict on his opponents._

_Despite his limited use of the style, the complexity and relative rarity of the form, coupled with the post-Order 66 lack of force sensitives to actually use it, means that in a galaxy of trillions, Cal Kestis is perhaps the ninth most proficient Jar’Kai user alive._

* * *

Both lightsabers streaked towards him, their crossed blades aimed for his head.

* * *

_While inexperienced fighters can find Jar’Kai impossible to counteract, fighters familiar with the style are aware that doubling the number of lightsabers one uses will halve the force behind each blow, so using Jar’Kai in defense makes its users susceptible to singular, powerful, attacks._

_Like with most fighting styles, familiarity with your opponent’s moves is often a deciding factor in most engagements._

* * *

Kanan closed his eyes, pausing himself in time, and tapped into his deeper instincts…

* * *

 _Kanan Jarrus is perhaps the_ **_sixth_ ** _most proficient Jar’Kai user alive._

* * *

...and _struck_ , his lightsaber deflecting the blades back and up, causing Cal to stagger backwards. 

“My turn.” Kanan whispered, his blades surging forward. 

Cal quickly brought up his blade, but he’d lost his initiative, and was barely able to react to each swipe of Kanan’s lightsaber. 

As Kanan continued probing his defenses, Cal’s face was focused entirely on the flow of his now singular blade as he tried to deflect the attacks. 

His opponent on the other hand, had a strange look on his face.

* * *

_“Remember Kanan, keep your guard up.”_

_“Yes Master.”_

_“Sometimes, a good defense is better than a good offense.”_

_“Of course, Mo-Master!”_

_“...Alright, let’s try again, block on your head, side, thigh, hip.”_

* * *

Kanan eyes narrowed, and deliberately aimed strikes at the head, side, and thigh. 

Cal’s lightsaber expertly deflected all of them, and then instinctively raised for a hip shot that never came. 

Kanan _glared_ at Cal, and his fellow Jedi realized the changed nature of the fight. 

“...oh crap.” 

“Have my _memories_ , huh, Kestis?” the man said with false serenity. 

“Sorry!” Cal said, somehow radiating embarrassment as he continued frantically blocking. “It’s involuntary!”

Jarrus hacked away at his fellow Jedi faster and faster. As Cal continued blocking him, Kanan’s face began to betray hints of annoyance at his opponent using his own lightsaber forms against him. Distantly, a Lothcat yowled. 

With a mighty strike, he pushed Cal backwards and the man once again rolled backwards. 

Kanan thought to himself, “I don’t know how many of my moves he knows, so…”

* * *

_A young Caleb Dume, the boy who would become Kanan Jarrus, watched as his master dueled with a fellow member of the Jedi council wielding a purple saber to Billaba’s blue. Their blades raced through the room with reckless abandon, with a force and brutality Kanan had never seen before. But his spectating was cut to an end when he slipped and fell on the floor, exposing him in the doorway to both Masters._

_“Oh, kriff…” He muttered as he held his scraped knee, trying not to wince._

_“Caleb?” Billaba said in surprise as she rushed to slide next to him, and looked at his scrape. “What were you doing there, were you watching us?”_

_“Don’t coddle him, he’s fine, isn’t he?” Master Windu said impassively, looking down at young Caleb._

_“Yes, Masters.” He said sheepishly, refusing to look Windu in the eyes as Depa quietly applied a bacta spray. “What...what is that you were doing? I’ve never seen Jedi fight like that.”_

_“It is-”_

_“_ **_Mace_ ** _.” Billaba said, interrupting her former master. “Perhaps it’s not appropriate?”_

_The two stared at each other in silent conversation, before Windu turned to Caleb with a strange look. Caleb turned away, scared, before Mace turned to Billaba with a pleading expression._

_“...it would not hurt to teach him some basics.” Windu finally said. “I...could spend some time with him on it.”_

_Billaba looked confused before seeing Caleb pointedly trying to hide from Mace’s gaze by scooting behind her. She looked up and saw an expression on her master’s face that looked suspiciously close to hurt by her padawan’s minute actions._

_Caleb’s beleaguered master gently facepalmed._

_“Kriffing emotionally stunted idiots-fine, Mace, but_ **_basics_ ** _.” She said, pointing at her former master for emphasis._

_Mace smiled slightly as Caleb whooped quietly behind her, before continuing to hide behind his master._

* * *

“...maybe I can use someone else’s moves.” Kanan finished. 

When Cal got up from his combat roll, Kanan was already waiting for him, jabbing his saber in and out of his guard. 

Kanan peppered him with strikes from nearly every direction, each slamming harder and harder into Cal’s own blade. 

Cal quickly found his defense overwhelmed, and Jarrus found his opening, with a bonecrushing strike knocking Kestis’s hand away, almost making him let go of his lightsaber, and leaving him open. 

But just as Kanan found himself on the verge of victory, with a followup strike, he froze. 

Kanan couldn’t move any part of his body, he couldn’t even move his eyes from where they focused on Kestis. He faintly realized that Cal’s hand had come up and was pointed at him, almost like he was pushing him with the force. But it wasn’t like getting pushed, that was more like getting hit by a truck, this was...different. He could feel Cal _warping_ the Force around him. 

But he couldn’t divert any more focus on that, as Cal had shaken off the surprise of his prior assault, and he moved to strike at Kanan while he was frozen. 

His lightsaber came down at Kanan…

* * *

_Form VII: **Vaapad** _

_The last known form of lightsaber combat. Vaapad (Or Juyo) is the most aggressive lightsaber form, to the point that it borders on tapping into the Dark Side of the Force. There has only been one true master of Vaapad._

_...that person was Kanan’s grandmaster._

* * *

...only to find Kanan’s lightsaber waiting for him. With a mighty heave, Kanan broke whatever hold Cal had on him, and violently parried the strike, staggering his opponent. Kanan dashed up to Cal, right hand ramming forward, aimed at Cal’s solar plexus. 

Almost in slow motion, Kanan’s hand accelerated like it was going to slam into Cal’s abdomen, and Cal tensed for the strike. 

Then...nothing. 

Cal quickly glanced down at his stomach, finding that the fist had stopped, and hadn’t even connected with his torso. In fact, it wasn’t even a fist at all. It looked more like a splayed palm, almost like his hand was trying to cup his chest-

“Oh, _kriff me_ .” Cal whispered, looking up just quick enough to catch Kanan’s satisfied smirk, before being _violently_ thrown back by the Force. 

He sailed yards across the clearing before finally stopping by slamming into a nearby mossy cliffside. 

Kanan quickly shook himself to clear out the combat adrenaline, and rushed to his friend. 

“Cal, are you okay?!?” He cried. 

“Ooowwww...you’re a kriffing asshole.” He heard from the moss, and a singular middle finger popped out from the mess of moss. 

“Oh good, you’re okay.” Kanan drolly replied. 

Cal quickly tumbled out of the moss, and Kanan caught him and helped him out of the green mess. 

“Damn, I’m gonna be feeling that for a week.” Cal whined, earning him a light punch from Kanan. 

“Don’t be such a baby.” 

“You threw me into a _cliff_.” 

Kanan rolled his eyes. “It was a _mossy_ cliff. And _you’ve_ jumped out of a ship, _in flight_ , to take a swim on Kashyyyk.You’ll be fine.” He said with forced levity. 

Cal copied Kanan and rolled his eyes. “Greez and his big kriffing mouth...It wasn’t _that_ high. I’ve seen Ahsoka do worse.”

“That’s a low bar, and you know it.”

“Fair.” 

There was a pause before Cal broke the silence. 

“So...How’d I do?” 

“Honestly?” 

“...yeah, sure, switch it up a bit.” Cal said sarcastically. 

Kanan elbowed him. “Honestly…” He paused, ignoring a distant tug in the force from the direction of his padawan, before shrugging. “You might be one of the best technical fighters I’ve ever met.” 

Cal froze, and the two stopped walking. 

“...What?” 

“Cal…” Kanan started. “You’re using moves I’ve _never_ seen before. Some of it is psychometry-”

Cal coughed sheepishly, avoiding Kanan’s eyes. 

“..but even with that, you’re still a _savant_. Your moveset has unprecedented versatility.” 

Kestis nodded in acknowledgement, but he returned with a question. “Why’d I lose then?” 

“Your flow is...wrong.” Kanan said uncertainly. 

“My...what?” 

“Your...flow...your Force?” his friend tried to clarify. “Okay, fighting is like a dance, right?” 

“Somehow I doubt Master Tapal would agree, but go on.” 

Kanan rolled his eyes. “Well, in a dance, there’s moves, and there’s rhythm. You have all the moves anyone could ever want, but your rhythm is...off.” The man struggled to find a metaphor. “It’s like you actively choose your actions in battle, one after another, you don’t act on instinct. And that’s where a Jedi’s strongest, not in our powers, but in our instincts.” 

Cal gently nodded at that. “I...had trouble with the Force. Even before the Purge. But...after... _something_ broke.” 

His friend placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. “I...understand.” 

Kestis sniffed, but quickly shook it off before his feelings could evolve further. “Let’s just say I’m working on it. Oh, speaking of force powers, sorry about my psychometry reading you, I can’t really control it that well.” 

Kanan nodded. “I figured that when you started using _my_ lightsaber moves.” 

“Hey, they’re good moves, gotta steal from the best.” Cal said with humor, before his voice dropped. “But…I can’t control what I get from it.” 

His friend nodded. “That sounds...overwhelming.” 

“You have _no_ idea.” Cal said, when he tripped, suddenly nearly falling down. 

Kanan moved slightly forward to help him, grabbing him and keeping him up. “Whoa there! You alright?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Cal said, shaking his head and putting more weight onto his feet. “That fight took more out of me than I expected. You have a mean Force-Push, Kanan.” 

His friend rolled his eyes, and caught a flash of green out of the corner of his vision. He focused and the Nightsister who’d been spectating them was gone from the seat she and Ezra had been. She left only a haze of green smoke, and a very confused padawan indicating where she’d just been sitting.

But before Kanan could react, she coalesced back into existence right in front of them, eyes bleeding green smoke. 

Cal perked up, seeing his teammate.

“Merrin, is something-”

“Are you okay?” She blurted out, grabbing his head and dragging it down slightly so she could look him in the eyes, unsettling him from the loose grip Kanan had formerly had him in. 

“Uh, yeah, why-” his words and his balance were interrupted by a flash of light from her fingers waving in front of his face. “Gah! Merrin!” 

“Pupil dilation is fine, no concussion.” 

Cal rolled his eyes. “Merrin, I’m _fine_. I’ve taken worse hits.” 

“Not from ‘friends’.” she said with venom as she turned from Cal to the Jedi next to him. 

Kanan, who had looked like he was on the verge of chuckling, took a defensive posture. 

“Hey! We said we’d give it our all. _He’s_ the one who used some weird voodoo magic on me.” 

“Voodoo magic?” Cal said, only to be railroaded by his Dathomiri team member and pushed aside so she could have at Kanan.

She pointed a finger at the Jedi’s chest, and her eyes blazed with dark magics that Jarrus could feel in his _soul_. 

“You hurt him. You will pay.” She whispered dangerously. 

Kanan gave her a deadpan look. 

“It was a _spar_.” 

Cal coughed off to the side. “He’s right. It went…”

“...Overboard?” Kanan offered. 

“Yeah, but we’re fine, okay Merrin. No need for Nightsister curses.” Kestis said with carefully crafted levity.

Merrin frowned, and narrowed her eyes at Kanan before walking away. 

But as she walked away, she stopped to point at her eyes, and then at Kanan’s, in the near-universal symbol of “I’m watching you.” 

Cal and Kanan waited until she’d re-entered the Mantis before Kanan whispered. “...was that supposed to be threatening?”

“...yes.” 

Distantly, Cal thought to himself. “God she is _so_ cute.” 

Kanan snickered slightly, and Cal started blushing. 

“Oh _sithspit_ , I said that out loud.”

“Oh yeah.” 

“I don’t suppose you could just forget I said that, right?” 

“ _Nope_.” 

“...oh _kriff me_.” 

_Well at least someone is having fun._ Cal thought distantly as Kanan almost collapsed from keeping his laughter. 


	4. The Ways of the Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While watching their friends spar, Ezra and Merrin have a lovely discussion on the Force.
> 
> ...also, Ezra is a popcorn fiend, and Kanan should REALLY cut him off at some point.

_ “Sounds like you’re scared, to me.” Merrin said evenly, staring at the two jedi in front of her.  _

_ “...fine.” Cal said, sighing, and Ezra whooped at his acceptance, and he kept shoveling handfuls of popcorn into his face as his master told him to knock it off.  _

_ Soon the two jedi were standing opposite each other, preparing to spar. _

* * *

On the other side of the clearing, Merrin whispered to Ezra as she continued eating individual kernels of popcorn. “...they  _ are  _ going to be okay, correct?” she said as the two blades of energy clashed with each other. 

While she’d encouraged them earlier, the speed at which they went at each other gave her pause in the midst of chewing. 

Ezra chimed in response. “Oh yeah. Jedi do more dangerous stuff when they’re padawans. Kanan started my training by doing one handed handstands-”

“That doesn’t sound that bad.” Merrin said, confused.

“-on top of a starship in the upper atmosphere of my homeworld.” He finished.

The Nightsister was about to eat a kernel, before she parsed the mental image and looked at him in concern.

“That seems...dangerous.” She finally said as she ate another kernel. 

“Oh, it was hella dangerous.” Ezra said with a smirk. “I totally fell off. Kanan caught me though.” 

Merrin looked at him with an expression that said she wasn’t sure whether she should believe him or not, and settled on eating more popcorn instead. 

For a Nightsister, alone for her whole life, Merrin was surprisingly intolerant of awkward pauses, and she quickly broke the silence as they watched the men clash. 

“So, what kind of advanced saber technique is this?” 

Ezra paused, and looked at her in confusion, before shrugging. “This is actually pretty basic if I’m being honest.” 

Merrin’s eyes followed the dancing arcs of light splayed across dull morning light. The two jedi moved faster than most sentients she’d ever seen, and with a ferocity to rival most Dathomiri males. 

“ _ Basic? _ ” She said incredulously. 

“Yep, actually, if I’m right…” After a last strike Cal paused and disengaged from his assault on Kanan. “HA! It is!” 

Ezra pointed at Cal. “Watch him, he’s gonna try six easy strikes in a row and disengage. It's a technique used to train jedi children.”

Merrin narrowed her eyes at Cal, and finally began to focus on how he was fighting. Time seemed to slow, and little tics began to jump at her. Cal’s strikes were telegraphed, easy to dodge, he struck with far less speed than she’d seen him attack stormtroopers with, and  _ something  _ told her that his swings came with maybe half the force he normally swung his lightsaber with.

“Oh, Kanan’s noticed Cal’s been sandbagging.” She distantly heard Ezra’s voice like it was in slow motion, and she turned to the other combatant. “He’s  _ pissed _ .” 

Kanan’s posture was tense, like a compressed spring. He was also slowing down his strikes, but while Cal had slowed to go easy on him, Kanan was slow because he was  _ waiting  _ for something. She saw his lips moving, and she could just make out the words, even across the clearing, and through the clashing sabers. 

Distantly, she felt an afterimage of Cal, defeated and lying on the ground. 

“Four, Five-” Kanan muttered.

“Six.” She finished under her breath, and she sprung up in her seat, eyes wide. 

Merrin was already standing when Cal hit the ground, and by the time Kanan had him at swordpoint, the Nightsister’s eyes were already green with magic. She was about to move forward to eviscerate Kanan Jarrus when she found herself stopped. 

“Merrin,  _ Merrin! _ ” Ezra said to her quickly, as he tried to keep her from stalking forward. “Calm down, it’s just a spar. Merrin...”

She turned to him, barely registering his words, until he held up his hand that didn’t have a box of popcorn, and waved it at her.

He spoke with  _ something  _ more behind his words than sound. “ _ Look at Cal. _ ” 

Her head suddenly cleared a bit, and she glanced up at her friend, still on the ground. 

His body was in a submissive posture, his back on the ground, and his hands up in the galactic symbol for mercy. But Cal’s body language was anything but submissive. In fact, as her eyes raked over the sheepish grin, and the relaxed muscles under his poncho, the only thing she could sense from him was  _ embarrassment _ , more than anything else. 

But the thing that got her to truly calm down was, after a few words from his fellow jedi, Kanan deactivated his lightsaber, and gestured to help Cal up from his spot. 

At that, her magicks faded back into wherever they’d come, and Ezra breathed a sigh of relief. 

“You...uh...want to sit down?” He said sheepishly. 

“...yes.” Merrin said with quick blinks, taking a seat back on the rock they’d been using as a bench. 

There was a bit of silence, before Ezra offered her the box again, and she gratefully took another kernel. 

“...it’s okay to be protective of your master, you know.” Ezra said in a tone too casual to not be forced. 

Merrin stiffened. “I’m sorry?” She said, looking at him in utter dismay and a bit of concern. 

“I mean, it’s perfectly natural, I’m  _ super  _ protective of Kanan.” He said quickly. “If anyone kicked my master’s ass like that, I’d be mad too.” He finished with a hint of levity. 

The Nightsister  _ glared  _ at the boy and felt her eyes bleed hints of green smoke again. “Nightsisters are  _ nobody’s  _ slave.” She growled at him. 

Ezra paused then looked at her in puzzlement, before realization dawned on his face. “What-nononono, I mean like ‘Jedi Master’. It's what jedi call their formal mentors-figures.” He rambled quickly. “When their padawan becomes a knight, they earn the title “Master”. It’s like…an honor thing. You know…’Master and Apprentice’?” 

His rambling at least dispelled the green mist clouding her eyes, but it had been replaced by an expression that clearly told him that she wasn’t fully understanding the analogy, and if he didn’t explain quickly, he’d regret it. 

“Like...Cere is called ‘Master Cere’ because she had an apprentice who became a Jedi.” He continued. “Kanan’s  _ my  _ master, just like Cal’s  _ your  _ master.” 

Merrin’s expression had changed from one sheer bewilderment, to one of surprise, and not a hint of annoyance. 

“Cal is not my master.” She said curtly. 

“He’s not?” Ezra said. “Oh. Sorry. I thought he was the one who was teaching you how to use the Force.” 

The Nightsister had finally given up on keeping her confusion out of her expression, and she just stared at him like he was crazy. 

“I’m not Force-Sensitive.” She said firmly.

Now that he knew she wouldn’t curse him, the padawan sitting next to her just popped another handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Yeth...you...awree…”

“I’m not!” 

Ezra swallowed his mouthful of popcorn. “What’s that green stuff you were about to throw, then?” He said, turning back at the fight, which had picked up significantly since they’d last looked at it. 

Merrin continued taking some of his snacks. “Nightsister magicks.” 

“Maybe.” He said, staring back at the fight, which had picked up significantly since they’d last looked at it. Their fight was a flurry of blue blades, with Cal’s dual ended blade catching his eye, and his mind whirled as fast as his master’s swings. 

“Maybe?” She responded, ordinarily offended by such a comment, but the last Nighsister was similarly entranced with the fight, though more for the sheer mindboggling  _ speed  _ the Jedi displayed rather than any specifics of the fight. 

“Kanan’s said that there are  _ many  _ different ways to interpret the force.” He said with a shrug, eyes never leaving the fight. “We’ve seen a couple of them.”

Ezra paused, before looking over to Merrin quickly. “Not that the Jedi are the _perfect_ interpretation of the Force. Every religion has their own spin on it. Like…” his eyes drifted back to the fight, where Cal’s lightsaber split in two. “...like trying to interpret a beam of light when all you have is a rainbow. Each color is still _light_ , just a different form. God, that’s an amazing lightsaber, I should’ve thought of that!”

Merrin smiled slightly, as the fight continued. “I think Cal’s is... _ special _ . Unfortunately.” 

“Darn.” There’s a pause as the fight began to turn to Kanan’s initiative. 

They were silent, and Merrin was reaching over to grab another kernel when Ezra spoke again. “Even if your magicks are different,  _ you  _ still have the Force. By Jedi standards.” 

She looked at his face, and found his eyes closed, with a look of intense concentration. 

Merrin stopped, and tilted her head in confusion. “How can you tell?”

“I can...feel it.” Ezra said noncommittally. Whether it was the Force, or just social awareness, even with his eyes closed, Ezra could  _ feel  _ her raised eyebrow indicating that she didn’t believe him. 

“Okay, okay.” he clarified, eyes still shut. “Jedi can... _ see _ with the Force. And Force wielders...especially strong ones, we can  _ feel  _ them. Hold on...”

Ezra paused, and grabbed for more popcorn, only to find it empty. He sighed, throwing the tin over his shoulder, eyes still closed, and the distant yowl of a Lothcat echoed in the clearing. His face screwed up in annoyance, and he  _ reached  _ out his hand, and distantly Merrin realized that she  _ felt  _ him reaching out to the environment, with something  _ more _ than her normal senses. 

She suddenly became more curious. “What...what does it look like?” 

His hand turned to the fight, and followed his master. “Every being in the galaxy is unique in the eyes of the Force. Kanan...the Force is infused in his body. He doesn’t use the force much externally, because it flows  _ through  _ his veins.” 

Merrin looked up to see Kanan on the offense, focused entirely on strength and speed as he brutally brought his blade down onto Cal’s. 

Distantly, she recognized that Ezra’s hand had moved to follow her teammate. 

“Cal is like a living river. Wow, he’s strong in the Force…” Ezra said distantly. “The Force is constantly flowing off of him in waves, and is constantly in flux. That’s why he can use the Force so much more than Kanan and I.” 

His expression soured slightly, and his hand changed from his master to Cal as the two fought. 

“But something’s wrong with his connection.” He tilted his head slightly. “It flows  _ around  _ him. Not  _ through  _ him. Something...something  _ hurt  _ his connection to the Force.”

He paused, and tilted his head slightly at Merrin, his closed eyes boring into her. “He’s an amazing fighter, right? But...he doesn’t flow in battle. Not like Kanan, right?” 

Merrin looked ahead to the fight, and cleared her mind. 

Suddenly, little details pop out at her. Kanan’s strikes, so sure and certain. Cal’s half aborted movements one direction or the other, where she could feel the indecision in his attacks. The way that Kanan’s attacks all smoothly flowed into one another in one continuous dance, while Cal looked almost jerky and twitchy by comparison. 

“Yes…” She said. “He’s...missing something.” 

Ezra nodded, but suddenly his eyes scrunched up in confusion, and he reached out his arm, like trying to push something in front of him. He did the motion again, before his eyes flew open. 

“The hell is that?” He said, worried. 

Merrin looked up to find Kanan, frozen in midstrike, caught in Cal’s Force-Slow. 

“Cal calls it ‘Force Slow’. It is a Jedi move, is it not?” She said in confusion. 

“I’ve...never seen Kanan do  _ that _ .” Ezra said distantly, before his eyes focused on the hilt of his master’s lightsaber. It was slowly moving, and when Ezra reached into the force again, he smiled. 

Merrin, for her part, didn’t see what happened next. All she got was a blur of movement, and suddenly Cal was going flying into the mossy cliffside, and Kanan was chasing after him. 

She was about to get up to confront Kanan again, when Ezra put a hand on her shoulder, and a feeling of ethereal calm gently nudged her psyche. 

“Merrin.” Ezra said, getting her attention. “The moss broke his fall. He’s  _ fine _ .” he finished with such certainty that it soothed the worst of her fears.

She gently sat back down, and sighed. 

There was an awkward silence when Merrin awkwardly spoke up. “Would...would you tell me more? About...the Force? What is everyone else like?” She clarified.

He nodded, and he turned slightly, closing his eyes and directing his hand back at the Mantis, where the others were. 

“I can see Master Cere. Her connection is...weak.” His face was a picture of distaste. “It feels like an abused animal, feral and hungry. It’s almost like she tried to... _ starve  _ her Force connection.” 

“Like Cal?” Merrin said quietly. 

“No...Cal’s connection is healing like a cut. The Force is slowly flowing back through him like it’s scabbing over his connection. Cere’s is...” He sighed. “...it’s like someone who had  _ chosen  _ to cut themselves off from the Force. Our connections are a muscle like any other. If you stop using it...well...” 

Merrin nodded in understanding. “Ahsoka?” 

Ezra moved his hand slightly. “I don’t know  _ who  _ taught her how to use the Force, but her connection to the Force is  _ crazy _ .”

He turned his head to Merrin, even though he still had his eyes shut. “Promise not to tell Ahsoka or Kanan this?” 

She nodded, and he smiled slightly. 

“Ahsoka, she’s like a  _ star  _ in the Force. She’s  _ bright _ , like no Jedi I’ve ever seen, light side radiating off of her in every direction. It’s almost like she doesn’t even have a  _ connection _ , she  _ is  _ the Force. It’s...amazing...”

He looked almost awestruck before he shook himself quickly. “Don’t tell her I said that, it’ll make me sound stupid and Kanan already teases me enough.”

“Said what, Ezra Bridger?” She said, with a hint of levity behind her tone, and he smiled gratefully. 

She paused, and shifted uncomfortably. “What do-” 

Merrin had been cut off, as Ezra had already moved his hand in front of her. 

The Nightsister  _ felt  _ his awareness filtering over her. Like a thousand eyeballs were observing her from every angle, and in the back of her mind, she pushed back against it slightly. 

His hand retreated quickly, before his head tilted to the side as he continued to gaze at her without his eyes. 

“You’re…” he paused. “A storm. With skin.” 

She stayed quiet. 

“The Force flows around your body like dark thunderclouds, clouding you from other’s sight.” His face was mixed, as his hand was still splayed out. “It’s...it’s hard to tell, like you’re hiding yourself.”

“I...I see conflict.” He said. “And sorrow.  _ So  _ much sorrow. Clouds and clouds of it circling you.” He paused, turning to the jedi duo who’d been talking, then slowly back. “You...you actually feel like Cal. While he buries his sadness, you wrapped yourself in it, but it’s the same kind of pain. A... _ loneliness… _ ” 

Merrin thought about what he was saying carefully, before breathing out a sigh. She didn’t know  _ what  _ it was, but found the part of her she was using to keep Ezra out, and gently tried to calm it. 

His face had turned apologetic over the course of his assessment, when it suddenly perked up slightly, as she focused inwardly. “But…”

He stopped, and head moved to where Cal and Kanan were talking, then back to the Mantis, before turning back to her with an expression that had Merrin pausing her breath.

“I sense an eye to the storm. Everything else, all the sorrow and conflict...it revolves around that core. A place of...peace. And love.” His hand had lowered, and he gave her a comforting expression. “You’re not alone, Merrin.”

Merrin sniffed slightly, and Ezra pretended not to notice her wiping her eyes.. 

He lowered his hand, and opened his eyes. “Thank you, for letting me in.” 

She nodded. 

“Now you try!” He said cheerfully.

The Nightsister had a reaction on her face vaguely between finding a large bug on her seat, and finding one in her meal. 

“I’m not sure…”

“Come on, it’s easy!” Ezra continued. “Just close your eyes.” 

She paused for a second of indecision, before shrugging, and closing her eyes. 

“Alright…” the boy continued. “Just, clear your mind.” 

“That is not how Nightsister magicks work.” She said sarcastically. 

“But it  _ is _ how the Jedi work,” he said quickly. “Breathe in your emotions...and let them out.” 

She breathed in, and when she let it out, she could  _ feel  _ something leaving her too. 

“Now...look around.” She was about to open her eyes when he interrupted. “Not with your  _ eyes _ .” 

She took in another breath, and let it out. 

Ezra reached out a hand, and closed his eyes. “Here, try this.” 

She felt him  _ reach  _ for her, and she  _ reached  _ back. 

He let go, but she spread that reach over the clearing, then farther, soon feeling the Mantis, and most of the forest around them. 

She could feel Cere, and her atrophied connection to the Force, and she soon felt a similar sense of awe Ezra had for Ahsoka, taking a second to just bask in the Light radiating off of her.

* * *

_ Inside the Mantis, in the middle of discussing recent political developments, Cere and Ahsoka both looked up in surprise. _

* * *

“You feel it!” Ezra said excitedly. “Try looking around!” 

“But I already see Cere and Ahsoka?” She said, confused. “Should I look at Cal and Kanan?”

“Nah, that’d be easy. Try looking around the clearing, all the things around us.” 

“...can I do that?” She said quietly.

“ _ Everything _ has the Force.” he responded solemnly. 

She broadened the horizons of her sight, and after a few seconds of adjustment, soon she was feeling the trees, the rocks, Greez cooking in the Mantis, and even the Lothcat milling around them. 

“So, what do I look like?” Ezra said excitedly. 

She turned her focus to the boy in front of her, her awareness wrapping around him like a glove. 

The Force flowed through his body, similar to how he described his master’s connection. But rather than be confined to his skin, his Force signature seemed to constantly be in flux, changing with his emotions. 

“Well?”

“You…”

She couldn't find the exact words to describe Ezra. His force signature seemed almost...inhuman…

Merrin was interrupted from her musings by a loud meow next to them. Her force awareness shifted to the noise quickly, and suddenly, she smiled. 

“...you...feel like a Lothcat.” She said with some hesitation, as the animal jumped up next to them. “In touch with your inner animal, very emotionally driven.”

She opened her eyes, to see Ezra sitting there with a mixed expression on his face, before he burst out in anger. 

“Dammit, that’s  _ exactly  _ what Kanan said!” He almost shouted.

She laughed in response. 

“Lothcat, Lothcat, Lothcat, it’s  _ always  _ a Lothcat!” He bemoaned, getting up and frowning at the animal next to them. He mock-glared at it, looking in it’s eyes. 

“This is  _ your  _ fault.” He said into its wide eyes, as Merrin continued to snicker. “Just because I’m from Lothal doesn’t mean I like Lothcats!” 

“You’re lying.” Merrin said playfully, correctly interpreting what the Force was telling her, as she gave the creature a scratch. “You should know, your connection seems to change constantly. It’s like your master’s right now, but I don’t think your connection with the Force is done evolving.” 

Ezra plopped back down and rolled his eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know. The Force is  _ always  _ evolving.”

She shrugged, and they fell into an easy silence again. 

“Hey, are Kanan and Cal taking a while?” He said carefully. 

Merrin looked up at the two men, who were talking as they were walking back. They seemed fine, until Cal tripped, and almost fell over from exhaustion. 

In a flash, Merrin had disappeared from her seat in a haze of green smoke, and she’d appeared next to the duo, berating them. 

Ezra smiled, and after checking if anyone could see him, quickly gave the Lothcat sitting next to him some head scritches. 

“You know…” Ezra said to the cat. “Cal might not be her master, but she sure is  _ acting  _ like he is…” 

  
  



	5. Attachments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal and Kanan have an...interesting...discussion about Jedi Doctrine, that quickly ropes in the rest of the Jedi in the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is a little more vulgar than usual. Still technically T in my opinion, but it's a hard T. If someone disagrees, feel free to hit me up in the comments.
> 
> Oh, and be warned, I'll be making minor edits to the other chapters at some point in the future. Nothing you'll probably notice, just little tweaks, since I came up with a new plot point.

_“God, she is so cute.”_

_Kanan snickered slightly, and Cal started blushing._

_“Oh sithspit, I said that out loud.”_

_“Oh yeah.”_

* * *

“I’m not talking about this, Jarrus.” 

“Awww, come on Cal,” Kanan said, wrapping his pauldron-clad arm around his friend. Partially to comfort him as his entire face began to turn red in embarrassment, partially to keep the poor Jedi from fleeing the conversation. “I just want to know the details, come on, buddy.” 

“There’s no details.” He responded stoically.

“Uh huh.” Kanan’s grip did not leave, in fact, Cal would swear the grip got stronger. 

“Nothing is going on.” Cal said, firmly. 

“And I totally believe you.” 

“...” Cal had stopped moving, now that they’d gotten to the Mantis, and was glaring at his friend. 

“...” Kanan returned the stare, his face placid. 

“...” 

“... _fine_.” Kanan said, pulling away from Cal’s glare. “I guess there’s nothing going on.” 

“ _Thank you_.” Cal said, sighing, and running a head through his hair. “I don’t want you spreading rumors. It’s a small ship, and I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable.” 

“Of course, I understand.” Kanan said with false calm. “There’s not going to be any drama, right, Merrin?” He said, pointedly looking just behind Cal’s shoulder. 

The ginger jedi jumped so high, he banged his head on a supporting beam of the Mantis, and clutching the lump on his head, he turned around...to find nobody standing there. 

Meanwhile, Kanan was barely standing upright, as he wheezed with laughter. 

“Kestis, you’re supposed to be a _Jedi_ , for Force’s sake. That really _shouldn’t_ have worked.” 

“Shut up…” Cal said, as he clutched his head and flipped off his ‘friend’. 

Kanan finished snickering, before looking around the ship, flicking a hand, and opening a refrigerator with the Force, pulling a cold press to fly into his hands, and tossing it to Cal, who gratefully put it on his head. 

“...” Cal looked around guiltily, before sighing, and plopping down on a seat in the Mantis. “How’d you guess that...you know?” 

Kanan took a similar spot opposite him. Distantly, the door to the Mantis opened. 

Jarrus shrugged, and smiled wistfully. “Your face.” 

“My face?” Cal said incredulously. 

“Yeah, every time I looked at someone like that Depa would call Mace in to give the ‘attachments’ talk.” 

“Oh yeah, the ‘attachments’ talk.” Cal laid back with a sigh into the chair. “I _totally_ forgot about that.” 

“What’s the ‘attachments’ talk?” Came a voice across from both of them. Both men looked up to find Ezra there, his head tilted slightly in confusion. 

Kanan froze slightly. “ _Nothing!_ ” He started. “Just some old jedi thing the council was always ranting on about, it wasn’t im-” 

Cal interrupted him mid-sentence. “See, Ezra, when a Jedi loves someone very much, the council-”

Bridger looked vaguely disgusted, and turned around. “Yeah, nope, don’t need _that_ talk! I already know all about that.” 

The ginger jedi gave him a raised eyebrow. “Really? Kanan gave you the ‘attachments’ talk?” He gave a confused look at Kanan, who was desperately trying to silence his padawan with hand signals.

He shrugged. “Yeah, I already knew all about that kind of stuff. Men have lightsabers, women have holsters, when two compatible species get together, nine months later they have a kid.” 

Cal looked at him in confusion. “Uh, that’s _not_ quite what-” 

“Plus-” Ezra continued, rolling his eyes, “even if I _didn’t_ know what ‘attaching’ was, I would’ve found out within a week of staying with the Ghost crew, given how much ‘attaching’ Kanan does to Hera all over the ship.” 

Kanan blanched slightly, and frantically tried to glare his padawan into submission, and get him to stop, but Ezra was _coincidentally_ focused entirely on Cal. 

“Really?” Cal said, giving a look at Kanan. 

“Oh yeah.” Ezra said with annoyance. “They think they’re _so_ subtle, and _so_ quiet, but the ship is tiny, and the walls aren’t _nearly_ soundproof enough.” 

Kestis had given up on pumping the boy for information, but Bridger was on a roll, and no amount of whispered groans of embarrassment from Kanan could stop him. 

“We’re not _that_ loud-” Kanan muttered under his breath, 

The boy had an exasperated look on his face, but with a mighty roll of his eyes, he interrupted his master. He pitched his voice up in a rather impressive imitation of Hera’s Rylothi accent, and said loudly. “HARDER Kanan, my _father_ pulled my lekku harder than that, _harder!_ ”

He quickly changed positions, pantomiming pulling something in front of him, while growling in another impressive impression of his teacher. “Call me _Master_ , then!”

Ezra changed back to his Hera impression, saying with a shit-eating grin, “Oh, _yes_ , Master! _Please_ , Master!” 

Kanan's face had changed from pale as a ghost, to “Sith Saber-Red” by this point, and he’d had enough of his padawan. 

“THAT’S IT! You’re out of here!!” He bellowed at his protege, picking Ezra up by the scruff of his jacket, over his strenuous objections. He carried the boy to the door to the Mantis, and promptly _launched_ the boy several feet out the door. Bridger naturally landed on his feet, and even managed to give his master a shit-eating grin and accompanying rude gesture as Kanan slammed the door shut.

He sighed, leaning on the shut door, listening to his padawan’s muffled laughter from the other side of the door. 

He heard a gentle cough behind him, and he turned to find Cal with a shit-eating grin equal to his padawan’s. 

“Oh no…” he said in exasperation. 

“So, who is this _Hera…_ ” Cal said with an almost believable casualness. 

“I’m not getting out of this, am I?” 

“Oh _hell_ no.” Cal grinned, gesturing to a seat next to him. 

When Kanan finally sat down, he gritted his teeth, before unclenching enough to speak. 

“Hera’s the pilot and commander of our Rebel cell, we met years ago, and we’re…” He paused, “...close.” 

Cal, perhaps realizing that now wasn’t the time to needle his friend, was gentle in his tone. “What’s she like?” 

Kanan chuckles. “Hera…” He struggled to find words. “She loves flying, and working on our ship. She’s an amazing pilot. She’s a true fighter, standing up for what she believes to anyone, from the Empire, to her friends.” 

Cal kept quiet, and listened, as Kanan smiled slightly.

“She cares. For _everyone_. No matter how big, or how small. She’s a mother to the entire crew, but she always keeps an eye on the bigger picture. The mission always comes first, but she finds time to care for the little guys in the process.” 

“She’d make an _excellent_ jedi.” Kanan sighed slightly. “Maybe a better one than me.”

Cal gently punched his friend in the arm. “Hey, don’t sell yourself short.” 

Kanan smiled again, slightly, and the two fell into an awkward silence. 

Cal pressed the cold pack against his head, before putting it back on the table, freezing for a second as a revelation hit. 

“Hang on.” He said carefully. “Ezra didn’t know what ‘attachments’ are.” 

Kanan stilled in his position leaning into his hands, in a near praying position. 

“Kanan…” Cal started in concern. “You _did_ tell Ezra about what ‘attachments’ are?”

“I…might have skipped that lesson.” Kanan said sheepishly. 

“ _Kanan_ .” Cal said seriously. “That’s one of the _foundations_ of the Jedi Order.”

Kanan rolled his eyes. “Well I don’t entirely _agree_ with that foundation of the Jedi Order.”

Kestis looked at him in exasperation. “I’ll _bet_ , given what you’re getting up to in this Rebel cell.” He said dryly.

“I can teach my padawan the way I choose.” Kanan almost growled at him, standing up.

Cal slowly stood “It’s a part of the Order’s Culture.” He said calmly. 

Jarrus glared at his friend. “Don’t tell me _you_ believe that Jedi shouldn’t even fall in love or ever make friends.”

The ginger Jedi’s serious and stoic facade cracked slightly. “Of _course_ I don’t believe that!” He said, almost shouting. 

The outburst seemed to shock both men, who calmed down slightly. 

“Sorry.” Cal said quietly. “I’m still keyed up from the fight.” 

“Yeah, same.” Kanan parroted. 

After a pause, Cal reached out again. “Listen, whatever your opinions, whatever our opinions, you ought to give Ezra the _choice_ if he wants to follow the Order’s teachings.”

Kanan sighed. “I will, I will. It’s just…” He trailed off, his voice becoming too low for Cal to hear.

“Sorry, what?” 

“I, uh...haven’ttoldHerayet.” 

“...” Cal just stared at him. “ _Kanan_.”

“Look, we’re not that kind of relationship that gets married-”

“How long have you been together?” 

“...a few...years…” He said sheepishly. 

“ _Kanan_.” 

“I know, I know!” Kanan said quickly. “I’m going to tell her.” 

Cal rolled his eyes. “How are you worse at this than I am?” 

“Hey, at least I’m _in_ a relationship!”

Kestis sighed. “...touche.” He paused, and he realized something. “Wait, is that why you don’t want to tell Ezra about ‘attachments’?” 

Kanan looked like he wanted to be literally anywhere else in the galaxy at that point.

“...a little bit?” 

His friend gave him a look judgemental enough to rank him alongside Depa Billaba, and Mace Windu. 

“Look, if Ezra is the one who tells Hera about ‘attachments’ it will be _so_ much worse than if I tell her.” He pleaded

Cal just sighed, and rolled his eyes. “Fine...just...tell her, and Ezra too.” 

“I will…” Kanan said quickly, before the door behind them opened.

Before he could continue, or notice who was coming through, the figure slipped past him to the cockpit. 

Cal looked around him to see Ezra Bridger sneaking to the front of the ship, and saw him talking to Ahsoka, who was sitting in the pilot’s seat. At his gaze, Kanan turned to look at his padawan.

Distantly, both heard him ask loudly. 

“Hey, Ahsoka, can I ask you a question?”

* * *

Ahsoka heard Ezra approach behind her. She’d just had the most enlightening conversation with Cere on the best routes to the planet they were stopped on, and they’d roughly calculated that the Ghost would arrive sometime tomorrow to rendezvous with them. 

The former padawan’s mind went to their precious cargo, and she resisted the urge to check on the lockbox in the bowels of the Mantis...again. 

Luckily for her, Kanan’s padawan had interrupted her anxieties, and she swiveled around her chair to face him. 

“What can I do for you, Ezra?” She said cooly.

“Hey, Ahsoka, can I ask you a question?” 

“Fire away.” the Torgruta responded genuinely. 

“So, I walked in on Cal and Kanan earlier, and they mentioned something about the Jedi.” 

Distantly, Ahsoka felt something tickling the edge of her force sense. 

“And…” She prompted. 

Ezra rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. 

“Uh, so...what are ‘attachments’?” 

Ahsoka’s face shifted to surprise. Partially because of the question, and partially because she spotted movement over Ezra’s shoulders. She tilted her head slightly, getting a better view of Kanan firmly trying to gesture her to stop talking. Meanwhile, Cal looked like he was about to roll his eyes so hard that they would pop out of his head. 

She gave them a confused look, and Cal facepalmed slightly, while Kanan looked slightly concerned that she wasn’t getting their message. 

Ezra hadn’t noticed any of this. He was too busy trying not to look Ahsoka in the eyes, and blushing. But eventually, the awkward silence was too much for him, and he turned his gaze back to Ahsoka’s, where she promptly schooled her features to not reveal any of her emotions.

“See, they implied that the ‘attachments’ talk was...sensitive…” He said carefully, tiptoeing around the issue. 

Ahsoka gave him a confused look, while Kanan distantly gestured for her to continue, and Cal continued to roll his eyes. . 

“I’m afraid I-”

“They said the ‘attachments’ talk was.. _you know_ …” He said, making a rather vulgar gesture while his face blushed furiously. 

Meanwhile, behind him, Kanan was giving Ahsoka the thumbs up. 

“I see…” Ahsoka said, trying to weigh her situation before mentally shrugging. “...yes, that’s what the ‘attachments’ talk is...from a certain point of view.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kanan pumping a fist into the air while Cal looked like he was going to slam his head into a bulkhead.

“Ah...so…” 

“Kanan and Cal were probably just uncomfortable talking about that with you, Kanan is very close to you, isn’t he?” She said softly, as Ezra coughed awkwardly. 

“Yeah...I...I guess that must be it.” he said more confidently, as Kanan hurriedly pushed Cal off the Mantis and out of Ahsoka’s line of sight. “Well, thanks Ahsoka! Sorry for...you know.” 

Ahsoka rolled her eyes as the padawan turned to leave the ship. “I’m always here to help, Ezra.”

* * *

“Alright, what did you kriffing idiots do?” Ahsoka said, looking at her two fellow jedi. 

“Kanan didn’t tell Ezra what ‘attachments’ were.” Cal said dryly. 

“Hey! That’s-it’s not-” Kanan stuttered. 

“Kanan…” Ahsoka said, giving him a judgemental look. 

Kanan sighed. “Look, I didn’t support the Order’s position on ‘attachments’,” he glared at both of them. “Something I know _both_ of you agree with me on.” 

The ginger jedi and the Togruta shared looks, before both made general noises of agreement. 

“But Ezra should _still_ be told about the Order’s point of view.” Cal said, seriously. 

“I know, I know…” Kanan said, vaguely, when Ahsoka put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Kanan, the Order had their rules for _reasons_ .” She said, softly. “You _know_ how attachments can tear at Jedi.”

Kanan didn’t say anything, just looking down. She gently moved her head closer, tilting her head under his gaze to look at him in the eyes. 

“Love is natural.” She whispered to him. “ _Emotions_ are natural. You shouldn’t be ashamed of that. The Order never banned emotions. They just believed that when making life or death decisions, we should control our emotions, not let our emotions control us. That’s how we get Sith, who would burn a world for the sake of one person.” 

Kanan sighed, and tilted his head to look at Ahsoka more easily. “Yeah, that’s important...in _theory_ . But in _practice_ , the Order just threw out anyone who got married, anyone in too serious of a relationship. Even as a padawan, I _saw_ it tear people apart from the inside out, forcing them to pick between the Order and their relationships.” He finished sadly.

Ahsoka smiled forlornly, as if remembering a painful memory. 

“I...I know.” She said, with enough saddened conviction behind her words that Kanan would swear she was close to crying.

Cal interrupted. “I...I don’t agree with the Order’s views.” He said quickly. “But we must remember _why_ they had those rules.” 

Kanan sighed, and nodded. “A Jedi can’t let emotions dictate them when lives are on the line. I know.” he said as he clenched.

There was a silence as all three of them stood there, in quiet contemplation. 

“Of course…” Cal started tentatively. “...for all intents and purposes, we _are_ the Jedi Order now.”

Kanan continued just as tentatively. “We have an obligation to inform the next generation of Jedi about the dangers of attachments.” 

“...but-” Ahsoka finished. “-we don’t have to ban romantic relationships entirely. As the new Jedi Order, we have an obligation to change our Order to fit this new age.” 

All three of them smirked identically. 

_Perhaps_ , Kanan thought, _This was the start of something new..._

* * *

_Several days later…_

_“Kanan!” Hera almost shouted from the gangway to the Ghost. Kanan rushed forward, stopping just in front of her, and they shared a tender hug in front of the various rebels, vagabonds, and Jedi in their party._

_Distantly, two of the Jedi in attendance hid smiles at the embrace, and moved on with their own conversations._

_But there was a third Jedi who looked at the embrace with surprise._

* * *

Hera took a seat by the Mantis’s navigational table, unplugging a data disk, and sighing. Her marathon session of information exchange she had just done with Master Cere had taken a lot out of her, and she was looking forward to literally anything other than briefings for the foreseeable future. 

“Your presentation was very good.” the Jedi in question said, plopping down in the seat next to her. 

“You too.” Hera said, with a weak smile. “Your information on the Inquisitors will be invaluable.” 

“Same here, we were never sure how many of those dark-siders there were wandering around.” She responded. 

Distantly, they heard the sounds of lightsabers clashing, and what sounded suspiciously like Zeb’s bowcaster, before an angry Lasat yell rang out, and the shouting escalated.

The two matriarchs took one look at each other, and mutually decided to _not_ deal with that brewing problem, with slight chuckles shared between them.

“God, I love my crew, but they drive me _so_ far up the wall.” Hera said with a sigh. 

Cere continued to chuckle, and passed a flask of something probably not water to her new friend. “From what I can tell, they’re still good people.” 

The twi’lek pilot smiled as she drank it. “Yeah, they’re the _best_.” 

The Jedi seemed to mull something over, before pushing. “But some more than others, right?”

Hera looked at her in confusion. 

“We _all_ saw you and Kanan.” Cere said dryly. 

“That...is private.” Hera said, with a pointed look. 

“Fair enough.” Cere said quickly, taking the flask back. “Still, I must admit, I’m curious how you guys make it work. It must be hard.” 

Hera perked up. “Hard? What’s hard” 

The Jedi Master looked at her in genuine surprise. “You know, with the whole ‘No attachments’ thing?”

“‘No attachments’ thing? What are you talking about?” The pilot said, confused. 

Cere paused, before speaking tentatively. “You...do know that Jedi aren’t allowed long term romantic relationships or to marry, right?” 

“They **_WHAT?!?!!_ **”

“Oh, boy…” Cere sighed, taking a swig of her flask.

* * *

_Distantly, while in the midst of Zeb's headlock, Kanan froze, as it felt like someone had just walked over his grave..._


	6. Fraught Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghost finally arrives, reuniting their crew once more. But with more people comes more revelations.

“Kanan!” Hera almost shouted from the gangway to the Ghost. Kanan rushed forward, stopping just in front of her, and they shared a tender hug in front of the various rebels, vagabonds, and Jedi in their collective party. 

“What the hell happened?” She said pleadingly, about to interrogate her wayward partner. “All we got was an explosion, then a message…”

* * *

_ In a hanger on the edge of a podunk town in Malastare, Hera adjusted her navicomputer. It was a finicky thing, needing constant maintenance, and still had a nasty tendency to get driven off course without supervision.  _

_ Her foot got thwacked by a similarly ornery droid, with an accompanying series of honks and clunks accompanying the slight pain. Hera rolled her eyes as she continued working.  _

_ “Chop, I’m a little busy right now. Go bother Sabine or Zeb.”  _

_ Another series of honks and clunks followed, and Hera barely could muster enough energy to respond. “I know you’re bored, buddy. But we got to keep a low profile. Who knows when Fulcrum’s agents are showing up.”  _

_ Her problematic astromech gave an increasingly annoyed series of noises back at her.  _

_ “Because you snuck off to find a damn leg for yourself, and almost killed us all. That is the  _ **_opposite_ ** _ of conspicuous, and you’re confined to the ship until you’re adequately punished. Kanan and Ezra will be fine. Now hand me the hyperspanner.”  _

_ Her orange-topped droid promptly groaned and wandered off.  _

_ “Do I have to do everything around here?” Hera growled, getting out from under the console.  _

_ She got up just in time to see a flash beyond the open doorway of the hanger, followed by the shockwave of a massive explosion. The entire ship rocked slightly with the force, and a horrible feeling sank into her gut.  _

_ The Twi’lek pilot frantically began flipping switches and knobs, and pressed the comm-button.  _

_ “Spectre-1, Spectre-6, do you copy? I repeat, Spectre-1, Spectre-6, what the hell is going on?” She almost shouted, as the mushroom cloud began to rise in the distance.  _

_ Static came out of the comm, with garbled voices following. “This is Spectre-1, that wa-” more static came across the system, before Kanan’s voice came back. “-repeat, someone hit the Imperial Garrison. It wasn’t us!” Distantly, Ezra’s voice came through the line too. “Damn, that looks like the whole magazine! Was that your team?” A faint, and unfamiliar voice joined the line. “No, I only just got here…” his voice trailed off as he and Ezra talked farther away from the comms.  _

_ “Spectre-1, who is that on the line?” Hera said into the line, looking at it in confusion.  _

_ “Long story…” Kanan trailed off. “Listen, we might need a pickup, maybe with some friends.”  _

_ “Understood.” She said, cutting him off, before switching channels to get Sabine and Zeb onboard before they got left behind.  _

_ Behind her, she heard some self-satisfied groans and thunks coming from her astromech.  _

_ “Save the ‘I told you so’s for later!” she growled at Chopper. “And warm up those guns. If I know Kanan, we’re going to need them.”  _

“It’s...a long story…” Kanan started as Zeb pulled Ezra off the ground in a hug, and Sabine punched him in the arm. 

“So... _ spill _ .” She growled at him, the look on her face brokering no argument. 

_ “Uggghhh...do we have to scout this garrison again?” Ezra whined as he and Kanan meandered through the streets.  _

_ His master rolled his eyes, and kept his gait firmly casual as they passed the stormtroopers guarding the front gate.  _

_ “Fulcrum’s got us watching this garrison, we’re gonna watch this garrison.” he said, testily, as someone in a poncho suddenly popped out of an alley, and violently bumped into him. “...even if we’ve seen every stormtrooper three times already.” he said, as he pushed past the man.  _

_ “See! You’re bored too! Are we sure we didn’t show up on the wrong planet?” His padawan whined. _

_ Ezra distantly thought to himself that Kanan was going to strain his eyes from rolling them all the time.  _

_ They kept moving forward in sullen silence for the rest of the block, before they perked up identically.  _

_ The feeling of an unseen pair of eyes prickled the back of their awareness.  _

_ Master and Padawan silently paused, before nodding to each other. _

* * *

“It’s...a bit  _ too  _ long a story for now.” Kanan said, the expression on his face telling Hera that they would have the discussion on that subject in a safer place.

Hera gave him an annoyed look, but let it go...mostly. 

“Can you at least tell me who poncho-boy over there is?”

Kanan looked over to his fellow Jedi, and sighed. “That’s Cal Kestis. He’s…” Kanan paused. “He’s an old friend.”

* * *

_ Cal Kestis wandered the streets of Malastare, pointedly avoiding the Dugs walking around him. He’d arrived earlier that day, and had been wandering since then, gradually approaching the Imperial Garrison.  _

_ “Cal.” His comm sounded. “Update?”  _

_ He pulled his hood further over his head, and quietly pulled his communicator up to his mouth. “Imperial shifts change at two hour intervals. It might be just enough to get across the courtyard without being spotted.”  _

_ “And beyond that?” Cere said, concerned.  _

_ “No idea what they have behind that. Could be a bunch of lothkittens waiting to greet me.” He chuckled slightly.  _

_ He could feel Master Cere rolling her eyes even though the comm was audio only. “Or an Inquisitor.” She said, dryly, refusing to rise to the bait.  _

_ Distantly, he could hear Greez yell “Or a Rancor!”  _

_ “It was one time…” Cal grumbled, and Cere interrupted him.  _

_ “We might have to wait for more intel.”  _

_ “I’m not sure we can, Cere.” the ginger jedi said quietly, finding an alley and moving to it for privacy. “For all we know, the Jedi-research is already gone, and the Empire pulled out.”  _

_ In Cere’s background, he could hear another feminine voice pipe up.  _

_ “I have the stealth spell ready.” Merrin called out. “If we need to extract him safely…”  _

_ The Jedi Master sighed.  _

_ “Cere…” Cal said softly. “We only have so much time.”  _

_ “...fine.” She said, and Cal heard Merrin speaking in ancient Dathomiri behind her.  _

_ He nodded, and moved out of the alley. “Thanks, Cere, I’m about to go-” he was interrupted by his slamming into a strange man in a brown-green jacket and a green pauldron. _

_ The Force tugged on Cal’s psyche, and he tugged back.  _

_ Suddenly he was assaulted by images in his head. _

* * *

_ He sat cross legged on the floor of the training room. His eyes were closed, but he could feel the others in the room. Two young younglings, and three familiar members of the Jedi Council.  _

_ His hands sweat in nervousness. The Council was judging them. They are the eldest younglings, and this test was vital to be picked as padawans, a test of memory. _

_ “Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge.” A blue youngling spoke from his right.  _

_ “Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony.” Another youngling continued, also to his right.  _

_ But despite his apprehension, the rest of the oath flowed through his mouth without him even needing to think about it.  _

_ “Death, yet the Force.” He said carefully.  _

_ There was silence in the room, before Master Yoda spoke up.  _

_ “Excellent job, Sammo Quid,” The blue youngling nodded. _

_ “Tai Uzuma,” the next youngling nodded. _

_ “Caleb Dume.” he nodded his own head in deference. _

* * *

_ Cal came back to the present, with his comm barking at him.  _

_ “Cal? Cal?!?” Cere called at him.  _

_ “I’m-I’m alright…” He said, shaking his head clear of his vision, and he scanned the crowd. It helped that most of the crowd were Dugs, with their unusual gait of walking on their arms making the average height far lower than most humanoids. His eyes narrowed on the few humanoids, upright dismissing most as the wrong species, or gender, or color, before his eyes narrowed onto a man in a green-brown shirt and an armored green pauldron. Eyeballing it, he would be roughly the same age as-No.  _

_ He shook his head. There was no way that he was...Cal paused, eyes locking onto a boy dressed in orange next to the man in green. A boy with something on his hip that looked suspiciously like a lightsaber.  _

_ The boy was way too old to be...who he was thinking of, but he was at just the right age for his padawan.  _

_ “Cere, I gotta follow up on something. Tell Greez to move close.” Kestis said vaguely, pulling his hood up farther, and moving before Cere could respond.  _

_ He moved to the middle of the street, and held out a hand. He tried to calm his mind, and breathed silently.  _

_ Cal closed his eyes, and listened.  _

_ The Force was different to everyone. Everyone interacted with it slightly differently. For Cal, it felt like being in another medium, the difference between being in air, and being submerged underwater, only the force was both more ethereal than air, and more oppressive than water.  _

_ Those familiar felt warm, and those of the dark side felt like a cold flow of water in an ocean.  _

_ At first, he felt nothing. Then…  _

_ A wisp. Of something subtle, something hidden, but warm, upstream.  _

_ Cal pulled out of his trance, seeing the two stop. He quickly ducked back into the alley, and quickly moved through the sidestreets of the town like a native. After circling back around from another direction, he found the two walking away, a different direction from where they’d first been going.  _

_ Kestis quietly followed them. A shadow in shadows, he changed ponchos multiple times to throw the casual observers off, and using some basic Force-assisted parkour, he kept good pace with the two.  _

_ Finally, after circling half of the Imperial garrison, maintaining a safe distance of at least a block from it, the two stopped, and straightened.  _

_ They turned and suddenly sprinted towards the garrison. Cal narrowed his eyes, and switched to a dark blue poncho as he ran after them, using a bit of the Force to blur his way through the crowded street, barely catching them climbing up to a building’s roof.  _

_ Cal hopped up, double jumping, and barely managed to catch his fingers on the edge of the roof, before pulling himself up quickly, worried he lost them.  _

_...only to find two lightsabers pointed at his face. _

* * *

“So, what do you guys think of these...Rebels?” Cere said casually. 

Greez shrugged. “They don’t look like much.” He said quickly. 

“ _ We _ don’t look like much, too.” Cal said appraisingly. “What do you think, Merrin?” 

Merrin didn’t respond for a second, and when he turned to her, she opened her eyes and was retracting her hand from where it’d been open and pointed at them.“...they don’t seem a threat?”

Cal looked at her in confusion, but was interrupted by the only true Jedi Master in the room. “What do you know about these people, Cal?” 

He shrugged, which set off the rest of his crew to stare at him, surprised. 

Cere was again the one to speak. “I thought you said you knew them.” 

“I know  _ Kanan _ .” he clarified. “From...you know... _ before _ .” 

Merrin and Greez seemed a little confused, but Cere’s expression was annoyed. “A lot changes from being at the Temple. You should’ve  _ told  _ us that.”

Cal rolled his eyes. “They were  _ Jedi _ . They needed help.” He paused, and whispered to his crew slightly. “I also...kind of read some of Kanan’s memories. I knew he was okay.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose and screwed her face up in annoyance. “If you’d had  _ any  _ doubts-”

“I’d have told you.” he reassured her.

* * *

_ The two lightsabers pointed at his face certainly took him by surprise. _

_ “Who are you?” came the taller man, glaring at him, lightsaber tickling the hair below Cal’s neck.  _

_ Cal looked around quickly between the two. Non-red lightsabers was a good sign, and the light side of the Force, so suppressed before, now thrummed like a live wire between the two.  _

_ He breathed out, and decided to take the plunge, pulling down his hood.  _

_ “Cal Kestis.” He paused, as the taller man shook his head slightly, like an insect had landed on his face...or like he was trying to remember something. “I’m…”  _

_ In for a penny, in for a pound. Cal ruminated slightly as his eyes were still on the lightsaber pointed at him.  _

_ “I’m a Jedi.” He said, unclipping his weapon, and holding it out in front of him. Cal quietly pressed a button, and a dark azure blade shone to match the other two blades on the roof. “...just like you, Caleb.”  _

_ The boy turned to his master in a look that spoke of confusion, and a healthy dose of fear.  _

_ Caleb tilted his head, looking at Cal’s face in the low light of Malastare’s night.  _

_ His grip wavered slightly. “...Cal?” _

_ Cal smiled, and deactivated his lightsaber, clipping it to his belt. “Hey teacher’s pet, how’s Malastare treating you?”  _

_ The man sighed in annoyance, and quickly deactivated his lightsaber, with his padawan following suit.  _

_ “Teacher’s pet?” the boy said, smile starting to form on his face.  _

_ “Yep!” Cal said with a smile of his own. “Your master here was a total teacher’s pet back at the temple, Master Billaba-”  _

_ “Shut up, ginger bandit.” the man said, petulantly, elbowing his padawan slightly. “Cal, how the hell did you survive The Purge?” he finished seriously. _

_ Cal noticed that his friend’s hand hadn’t actually left his lightsaber.  _

_ “...I could ask you the same thing.” He said carefully. “I...don’t suppose that you could tell me what you’re doing on Malastare.”  _

_ Caleb’s face flattened, as did his padawan’s. “That’s...classified.” _

_ Cal crossed his arms in annoyance, and rolled his eyes. “Gee, two card carrying Jedi on a planet where the Empire’s keeping secret Jedi research looted from the Temple. What could they  _ **_possibly_ ** _ be doing.”  _

_ Caleb started in pure shock. “The Empire has WHAT on Malastare?!?!?”  _

_ Almost at his words, an earth-shattering explosion tore apart the Imperial Garrison they were overlooking. _

* * *

Hera raised an eyebrow at the motley crew behind Kanan...well, the motley crew that wasn’t  _ hers _ . 

“And you trust them?” she said as she continued to hug her partner.

Kanan shrugged into her embrace. “I don’t trust anyone.” 

She pulled back slightly and gave him a look.

He paused, and thought about it. “Intellectually...I  _ really  _ shouldn’t trust Cal and his crew.” Kanan started. 

“But?” Hera said quietly. 

“...I think I trust them anyway.” He said under his breath. “I...shouldn’t. But…”

“They’re Jedi.” she finished for him. 

“...yeah.” He said, almost guilty. 

She rolled her eyes and gave him another hug. “You thought your people were  _ dead _ , Kanan. You’re allowed to be happy.” 

Tentatively, he reciprocated the hug, and she saw Cal smile at her.

* * *

_ The three jedi started at the explosion, and were almost thrown back by the ensuing shockwave.  _

_ “What the hell?” Cal said quickly, before being cut off by noise from Kanan’s communicator.  _

_ “Spectre-1, Spectre-6, do you-kzzrkkkzz” The comm was cut off in a cloud of static. “-repeat, Spectre-1, Spectre-6, what the hell is going on?” A feminine voice almost shouted at them, as the mushroom cloud began to rise above them.  _

_ “This is Spectre-1, that wasn’t us.” Kanan said, “I repeat, someone hit the Imperial Garrison. It wasn’t us!”  _

_ Ezra peered over the edge of the building overlooking the garrison, which now had a massive chunk taken out of their fortifications, and fires everywhere. “Damn, that looks like the whole magazine! Was that your team?” he asked Cal quickly. _

_ Cal’s eyes didn’t move from the flaming structures as the Imperial insignias were consumed by the flames. “No, I only just got here...I don’t think…” he said, as he trailed off, suddenly grabbing his own comm. “Cere, please tell me that wasn’t us.”  _

_ “Kid, are you crazy?” Greez said testily. “That explosion almost took a chunk out of us, why would we set it?!?” _

_ “Okay, okay...stay close, we might need a quick evac.” Cal said quickly. _

_ “Got it, kid…” _

_ Simultaneously to this conversation, a voice came from Kanan’s comm. “Spectre-1, who is that on the line?”  _

_ “Long story…” Kanan trailed off. “Listen, we might need a pickup, maybe with some friends.”  _

_ “Understood.” She said, cutting him off as Kanan rolled his eyes. “So…” he said, turning back to the other two Force-sensitives sharing the roof with him. “If it’s not either of us, then who-” _

_ He was cut off by a blast door, formerly attached to the Imperial installation, flying across the garrison’s courtyard, knocking aside the poor stormtroopers who had the misfortune to stand in its flightpath.  _

_ Looking back where the door was supposed to be, a Togruta woman, with orange skin and white montrals, stood, with a box under her arm.  _

_ “Imperial?” Kanan said quietly.  _

_ “No way.” Ezra added. “Imperials would never allow that kind of blue in their uniform.” Earning him a raised eyebrow from his mentor. The padawan pouted. “Sabine likes to complain about ‘aesthetic conformity enslaving the minds of the youth’…”  _

_ “Does she...does she look familiar?” Cal said quietly as the remaining stormtroopers aimed at her.  _

_ She gently placed the box on the ground, and put her hands in the air. Unconsciously, the Jedi took their hands off their lightsabers. Then something rippled in the Force.  _

_ Something...familiar...to both of the former padawans. _

_ And like that, a cylinder flew from her belt to a hand above her head.  _

_ Suddenly the woman streaked across the courtyard, blue lightsaber flying to life as she tore into the stormtroopers. Her reverse grip on the saber sent the numerous streams of blaster bolts back at her opponents. Her reverse grip on the saber sent the numerous streams of blaster bolts back at her opponents, with the box held in front of her deflecting the rest in all directions. _

_ “Is...is that who I think it is…” Cal said dumbly.  _

_ “It...it can’t be.” Kanan continued, mystified.  _

_ “Who?” Ezra said quickly.  _

_ A whip of her free hand sent the box at the head of the nearest stormtrooper, with a force strong enough that Kanan was debating covering his padawan’s eyes at the sight, before being whipped back by the Force, and covering her once more from laserfire.  _

_ But despite possessing the kind of speed that probably could have eventually killed every stormtrooper in the garrison,within the hour, she clearly wasn’t trying to pick a fight with the entire base, and she was running to the Imperial Shuttle waiting for her, flinging the box into the shuttle ahead of her.  _

_ Unfortunately, the stormtroopers targeting her realized that fairly quickly, and soon, all of them were firing at the shuttle, riddling it with holes. While it didn’t exactly look particularly safe to fly, its chances of being an escape route finally dropped to nil when a stormtrooper with a captain’s pauldron finally found a rocket launcher, and caused the shuttle to explode in a hail of sparks.  _

_ Ahsoka was knocked to the ground, and sent the box trapped in the shuttle flew out, embedding itself in a nearby wall.  _

_ “Uh, should we go-” by the time Cal finished his sentence Kanan had already taken a Force-assisted leap into the courtyard.  _

_ He turned to the padawan, and Ezra shrugged. “Whoever she is, she’s fighting Imperials, that’s good enough for us.” he looked about ready to leap after his master, when he paused. “My name’s Ezra Bridger. Caleb goes by Kanan Jarrus now.”  _

_ Cal smiled. “Cal Kestis. Race you?”  _

_ Ezra got an almost feral grin, and they launched themselves off the edge, into the courtyard. _

* * *

But as they hugged, Hera’s eyes finally drifted across the others, until finally landing on the tall Torgruta woman standing apart from everyone. 

“Speaking of, Kanan, how do  _ you  _ know Ahsoka?” 

Her partner snorted. “Me? She’s  _ your  _ friend, remember?”

* * *

_ Kanan had his lightsaber ignited before he even touched the ground, and two stormtroopers fell by his hand in the time he’d taken two steps. _

_ Within seconds he was halfway to Ahsoka’s still prone body, and he’d pulled out his communicator.  _

_ “Spectre-1 to Ghost, tell Fulcrum to get their people out of here, someone took the top off the Imperial Garrison!” He finally got to the woman, in between deflecting bolts and talking into his communicator, he called out to the woman he was defending. “Dammit, Ahsoka, get up!” He shouted at the potentially concussed Jedi, who was fiddling in her pockets for something.  _

_ “Did you say  _ **_Ahsoka?!?!_ ** _ ” His comm chirped at him.  _

_ “You  _ **_know_ ** _ her?!?!” Kanan growled, barely deflecting the oncoming laser-fire.  _

_ “She’s  _ **_Fulcrum_ ** _ , you kriffing nerfherder!” His partner screamed at him.  _

_ He started, finally looking down at the Jedi, who was sheepishly pressing her gauntlet, which was projecting a hologram with the Fulcrum symbol. _

* * *

Hera rolled her eyes and finally pulled away from Kanan, before walking over to the unfamiliar crew. 

She slowly bowed in front of them, before smiling. “Thank you for rescuing my crewmates, and Ahsoka.” 

The Mantis Crew returned the smile, and looked fairly sheepish at the praise. 

“It’s no problem.” Greez said quickly. “We were already picking up one crazy Jedi, we figure’d we’d buy in bulk and save some time.”

* * *

_ “You must be my backup.” Ahsoka said wryly, finally getting up. “You’re with Hera, right?”  _

_ Kanan nodded, before vaguely gesturing to where his padawan and Cal were rushing across the courtyard towards them. “We found some friends too.”  _

_ Her expression could not have been more shocked when Cal and Ezra whipped out their own lightsabers, expertly deflecting more bolts back from them.  _

_ “More Jedi…” she said, stunned, before shaking her head free of the confusion. “We need a ride!” she shouted.  _

_ “Hera! You close?” Kanan shouted into his comm.  _

_ “Still a few minutes out, love!” She said, as the sound of blasterfire echoed in the background.  _

_ “I might be able to help!” Cal added, deflecting more bolts back. “Greez,  _ **_now!_ ** _ ”  _

_ Like a cloud passing past the sun, the Mantis decloaked, almost directly on top of them, and it descended. A gangway opened on the ship, and an older woman of dark complexion popped out of the opening, a blaster pistol laying headshots into any stormtrooper stupid enough to try shooting her ship.  _

_ “Come on!” She shouted.  _

_ Cal nodded, and silently hopped up to the ship, where he covered Cere from the blaster fire. Similarly, Ezra looked back and forth in indecision, before giving his master a curious look. Kanan sighed, rolling his eyes and nodded, pulling up his comm.  _

_ “Spectre-2!” He shouted as Ezra took a leap to the gangplank, and Kanan used the Force to help push him higher. “We’re taking another ship out!”  _

_ “ _ **_What?!?!_ ** _ Spectre-1, what the hell-” _

_ Ahsoka chimed into their conversation. “Spectre-2, this is Fulcrum, we need you to draw the Imperial blockade away from us.”  _

_ “...” there was worried silence on the other line, before Hera responded. “Understood, Fulcrum, Spectre-2 out.”  _

_ “She doesn’t even listen to  _ **_me_ ** _ like that…” He huffed, shutting off the comm.  _

_ With that, Kanan took a Force-assisted leap onto the ship, and with Cal, waited with charged lightsabers for Ahsoka.  _

_ But while they’d hopped on immediately, Ahsoka didn’t, and instead her eyes scanned the battlefield, finally finding the box she’d been carrying earlier. She reached one hand out with the Force, while the other deflected shots coming her way.  _

_ Ahsoka gestured to the box embedded in the wall of the compound, and though it resisted, it finally was ripped out of the wall to fly across the courtyard, various blaster bolts pinging off of it as it sped by. _

_ “Spectre-1, Heads up!” she shouted, and with a flick of her hand, the metal box curved from the other side of the battlefield toward Kanan, where it slammed into him with enough speed to knock him back slightly. She gestured for the Mantis to begin leaving, and seeing what she was planning, Cal relayed her commands to his crew.  _

_ “Greez, get us out of here!” He shouted. “Take us over the north wall!”  _

_ His pilot, long since used to crazy jedi commands, dutifully followed them, flying across the courtyard parallel to Ahsoka.  _

_ Finally, Ahsoka took a running start, vaulting off various supply crates, before using the north wall as a stepping stone to leap into the air… _

_...perfectly timing her jump to grab Cal’s outreached hand as the Mantis flew past them. By the time she was inside the ship, they were already halfway to orbit.  _

_ She got up, gingerly, because of the bumps and bruises covering her body, and meandered to the cockpit, where Kanan, and the Mantis crew were.  _

_ “Spectre-1, the Imperial blockade seems to have gotten larger?” Came Hera’s voice from Kanan’s comm.  _

_ “They’re beefing up security.” Ahsoka said in an exhausted tone. “New boss coming. We need to go.”  _

_ “We’ve got something that can get us past the blockade undetected.” the woman at the helm said quickly, nodding to a grey woman in red, waiting in a seat nearby. “But we’re not leaving you.” she finished firmly towards Jarrus’s communicator.  _

_ “You might have to…” Hera said, the sound of blaster fire in the background coloring her tone.  _

_ Ahsoka chimed into their conversation. “Meet us at Rendezvous Point 17. Take the long way around, we’ll run the blockade, and wait for you there.”  _

_ “I’m not leaving-” Jarrus started. _

_ “Kanan.” Hera added quietly. “We’ll be okay. Get out of here.”  _

_ The entire crew could hear the silence, when Kanan finally nodded.  _

_ “Stay safe.” _

_ “You too, love.”  _

_ Ahsoka hurried forward and leaned over the control panel, plugging in numbers as the woman in red began chanting in some strange language. _

_ The whole craft became infused with a dark energy, and not a moment too soon as tie fighters from the surface passed by them.  _

_ They slowly approached the fleet, the Star Destroyers casting vast shadows that engulfed their small vessel.  _

_ The Mantis had finally cleared the blockade, and the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief, when a cold feeling washed over most of them. _

_ Kanan and Ezra stiffened, while Cal shivered, and Ahsoka’s eyes narrowed.  _

_ “Cere-” Cal started, but she had already pushed the lever, jumping them to hyperspace. _

* * *

_ Not another moment later, another Star Destroyer entered the system they’d just left, and the figure on the bridge tilted it’s head in confusion. As they’d approached, she’d sensed something, a wisp of... _

_ “Inquisitor, we’ve entered the system. But the local garrison, it’s...it’s unresponsive.”  _

_ She gazed out the window, when her fist clenched slightly, and she silently stalked to the communication room for a private conference with her Emperor. _

_ Perhaps it was something more than a wisp... _

* * *

Hera turned to the only member of the group standing alone in the clearing, and slowly walked to her. 

“Fulcrum.” She said politely, holding out her hand.

Ahsoka smiled, and held her own hand out, grasping Hera’s respectfully.

“Spectre-2. It’s an honor to meet you in person.” 

“Likewise.” Hera said evenly. “So…” She said with a concerned look. “...what exactly did you find in that Imperial Garrison that required blowing it in half?”

Like that, everyone subtly (and some not-so subtly) turned to listen in on their conversation. 

Ahsoka didn’t miss any of that, and she spoke loudly enough that everyone could hear it. “It’s a Jedi Matter.” 

Just like that, everyone without Force-sensitivity rolled their eyes, and lost interest, while the Jedi in the clearing perked up. 

Hera gave a huff, and rolled her eyes, and gestured for her own Jedi to come over, while the other Jedi followed. 

Merrin looked like she was going to ignore the summons when Ahsoka fixed her with a gaze that caused her soul to contract slightly in worry, and she reconsidered, tentatively walking over. She passed an exasperated Hera, as the pilot gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder before joining the non-Force Sensitives on the Ghost.

“Come on, this is a discussion we’ll want to do indoors.” Ahsoka said gravely, pulling them to the Mantis as Greez challenged the Ghost Crew to a game of cards. 

“What could possibly be so dangerous in a box that small?” Ezra said, disbelief written over his expression. 

“You have seen your  _ own  _ stature, correct?” Merrin replied, to snickers from the rest of the Jedi around her. 

“Hey!” He said petulantly, and glared at her, diffusing the situation, but not stopping the his original question from flitting through everyone’s minds.

* * *

_ Ahsoka had been in the Imperial complex for several hours now. She’d taken advantage of the poorly equipped, and even more poorly trained garrison to effectively scout almost the entire facility. Nothing of value had come up so far.  _

_ No excessive amounts of explosives, no vast assembly lines, no prototype weapons, she was hard pressed to find anything of value in this third rate Imperial outpost. At least, nothing that warranted the alarm bells her contacts were raising.  _

_ But it was still a large outpost, and it was consuming a lot of energy for something this far out of the way.  _

_ Naturally, the Force was whispering in her ear that something was  _ **_wrong_ ** _ here. Something was  _ **_close_ ** _.  _

_ And finally, just as she was about to leave, and was regretting calling in the Spectres, since this was clearly just a waste of all of their valuable time and resources, she paused in front of a room she hadn’t checked yet.  _

_ Her breath crystalized in front of her. It was cold. Very cold.  _

_ She moved to the side of the door, and waved a hand, a pulse of the Force opening the door with a wisp.  _

_ Ahsoka walked inside, and a large Imperial computer waited in front of her. The black and white screen giving an ethereal glow that highlighted her cold breaths in front of her. _

_ She moved closer, reading the screen. They were names. None she had heard of before. Just random names, with basic identifying information (Name, sector of origin, though she could only tell because she recognized some of them), and three more columns next to them. Just two numbers and “positive”/”negative”. The first numbers were all between 200 and 500, but occasionally would have numbers as high as 7,000, while the second ranged from only between 1 and 13. Ahsoka quickly moved on from the spreadsheet to the actual machinery itself. _

_ All of the screens and monitors seemed connected to one sole box in the middle of the room. It was gunmetal grey on the outside, but on the inside, it seemed like the dull metal was only a housing for a tablet, which was the endpoint for all the connections to the main computer, and a small oblong object, something that… _

_ Ahsoka paused. She reached out her hand to touch the small device, thinking that it looked very familiar, and she touched the tip, quickly pulling it back at the sharp pain inflicted. She pulled her finger to her mouth to deal with the blood.  _

_ The Jedi was fully confused by this point, as her first impression of this being an old Jedi communicator had to have been wrong. After all, she’d never had a Jedi communicator  _ **_stab_ ** _ her before… _

_ Suddenly, the screens stopped scrolling through information, and they paused, starting a new line.  _

_ She realized that the information was showing up on the tablet in the box first, not the screens above, and she quickly looked over at it. Was it analyzing her...blood? _

* * *

_ Within the next several minutes, Ahsoka would frantically grab every explosive the base possessed, and a few that it didn’t, surreptitiously bringing it to the chilled room she was currently in. _

_ But prior to that, she would disable the outgoing communications array, and repeatedly carve into the machine with her lightsaber. The computer, by the time she had left, was a mess of slag, with enough thermal detonators lining it to cripple a light cruiser. _

_ The box, on the other hand, which contained the Jedi communicator, and the tablet, was missing, the wires hanging limply from where she’d frantically ripped the box from the computer after reading the words on the tablet. _

_ But that would all be in the next few frantic minutes. For now, Ahsoka read the words that sealed the room’s, and by extension, the Imperial Garrison’s, fate. _

* * *

_ In large, bold letters: _

**_Name: UNKNOWN_ **

**_Sector of Origin: UNKNOWN_ **

_ But when it got to the final lines, Ahsoka’s blood turned to ice, as the Force screamed at her in warning.  _

**_Midi-Chlorian Count: 9,850_ **

**_Age: UNKNOWN_ **

**_Force Sensitivity: POSITIVE_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This goes out to all the people wondering how the hell they all met in the first place. The Plot has Awakened! 
> 
> Be warned, I am actually going to try to have some semblance of a story, but I'm flying this story by the seat of my pants here, so don't expect Shakespeare. XD
> 
> Feel free to tell me what you all think of the new developments in the comments!


	7. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Squad debates what to do with their recent acquisition. As with all things jedi-related, it devolves into philosophical arguments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will once again reiterating that I am flying this fic by the seat of my pants, so if you all want to add comments telling me what I'm doing wrong, and what I'm doing right, I would love to hear it! 
> 
> Your comments feed the hamster wheel in my brain that churns these chapters out. XD

“The Empire has a Midi-Chlorian test, and they’re using it on children.” 

A silence followed Ahsoka’s words. All the Jedi before her started with confused expressions, but they slowly morphed as the implications of what she said sank in. 

The emotions before her ranged from Merrin and Ezra, who looked more confused than anything else, to Kanan and Cal, who were slowly becoming more horrified, and Cere, who looked suspiciously like she was going to murder somebody.

Ahsoka paused, and reached out in the Force. Everyone else seemed...normal...for the given news, but something dark was coming from Cere. Before she could gaze more intently, Cal gently grasped her shoulder. Cere sighed slightly, and the feeling Ahsoka got from the Jedi Master bled away.

“Cere, are you-” She started, only to be interrupted by the very person she was talking to. 

“I’m fine.” She said quickly. “What I want to know is  _ how _ .” 

Ezra interjected. “Really, because I want to know ‘what’? What are midiclo-miniclo-”

“Midi-Chlorians.” Cal said slowly. “They’re...they’re the things inside of us that let us use the Force.” 

Ezra and Merrin both perked up in surprise. “Wait, something inside us lets us use the Force?” He said quickly, flipping his hand back and forth, gazing at it, trying to see the midi-chlorians. 

Kanan facepalmed and gestured for Cal to shut up. “Stop confusing him. Midi-chlorians are Force-Sensitive symbiotic organisms in our blood. They have nothing to do with our use of the Force.”

“What?” Cal said in surprise, as Merrin's head turned to him like they were in a game of Huttball. “That’s not true, they let us  _ use  _ the Force.”

“Uh, Ahsoka?” Ezra said, turning to her while his master looked at Cal like he was insane.

“My master always said that the midi-chlorians were unique in the Force, and determined how powerful a jedi was…” She started. “Of course, he had the highest midi-chlorian count ever, so of  _ course  _ he said that.” the jedi smiled sadly. 

“No, they’re not special, they’re just little parasites that feed off the Force.” Kanan said, pinching his nose in frustration.

“They’re not parasites!” Cal said vigorously, when Cere interjected. 

“ENOUGH.” She almost shouted. “You’re  _ all  _ wrong.” She finished testily, before sighing. “And...you’re all a bit right.” 

She looked around at all of them, checking for their attention before straightening slightly. “I was a Seeker, when finding Force Sensitive children, I had to test people for midi-chlorians  _ all the time _ . And I can firmly say that we didn’t know  _ anything  _ about midi-chlorians.” 

Cere turned to Kanan. “Yes, we never found anything else that midi-chlorians used for fuel, so it’s entirely possible they were parasites, living off of the ambient Force that sensitives gave off.” 

She turned to Cal. “Yes, we never found any Force-Sensitive who  _ didn’t  _ have midi-chlorians, so it’s entirely possible that midi-chlorians allow us to access the Force.” 

The Jedi Master paused, and turned to Ahsoka. “Yes...there is a correlation of midi-chlorian count to level of Force-Sensitivity.”

She turned back to the group as a whole, noting the curious looks on Merrin and Ezra’s faces. “But…” 

Master Junda looked at Kanan. “We never found evidence that midi-chlorians were  _ dampening  _ people’s connection to the Force, so we could never  _ prove  _ they were parasites.” 

Cere looked at Cal. “And we never found any living beings who  _ didn’t  _ have midi-chlorians at all, so we could never  _ prove  _ they were our connection to the Force.” 

Their friend paused, and didn’t look Ahsoka in the eyes. “Midi-chlorian count is only  _ correlated  _ with Force-Sensitivity. For every two strong Force-Wielders with a high count, there was one with a low count. The only reason people put so much stock in midi-chlorians being ‘power levels’ is because the two highest counts alive were Master Yoda, and...well…” 

She trailed off, and looked at Ahsoka, who nodded. 

“The idea that midi-chlorians were parasites, or our connection to the Force, or power levels were all simplifications Jedi Masters would tell younglings and padawan learners.” She sighed. “The truth was that we studied midi-chlorians for a  _ thousand  _ generations and the only thing the Jedi Order was able to tell us is that they show up in greater numbers in Force-Sensitives, and how to count them.” 

She turned back to Ahsoka. “Both of which took almost a thousand generations to figure out, and were two of the Jedi Order’s greatest secrets, so how the hell did the  _ Empire  _ figure that out before they figured out the value of handrails?”

Ahsoka sighed, and pulled out the box she’d stolen from the Imperial Garrison, laying on the table with a thunk. 

“...what is it.” Cere said sharply. 

“A box. With a jedi communicator in it.” Ahsoka said easily. 

Cere cursed slightly. “A Jedi communicator...one with midi-chlorian testing capabilities. There weren’t many of them. They’d be issued to Seekers, and members of the Jedi Council.” She paused. “Occasionally Jedi Masters would be allowed one if they were formerly Seekers, or if they were really senior Jedi Masters. But that was rare.” She gazed at the box. “Usually if an active Jedi was trusted enough to have a midi-chlorian test, they should’ve been  _ on  _ the council already.” 

The Jedi Master pinched her nose. “And it was in pairs. It was  _ always  _ in pairs. One who administered the test, and one who analyzed the results. Two Jedi to authenticate a test, two Seekers, or Master and an Apprentice, just in case some darksider wanted to figure out how it worked…” She shook her head. “Two jedi killed just to…” 

“Cere?” Cal said cautiously. 

“I’m fine.” she said quickly, as her distress grew. “I’m just...there were only so many Seekers and Masters trusted with this, we all  _ knew  _ each other. I-I’m trying to think of who this-”

“Can we see it?” Kanan said quickly, interrupting her ruminations, reaching down to open it, only finding his hand scrabbling on the lock. 

“It’s a  _ locked  _ box.” Ahsoka clarified. “With one big problem.” 

She pulled out her lightsaber hilt, and held it over the box, the hole containing the blade facing down at it. With a quick trigger of the switch, it ignited, and hovered over the top of the box. With a heave, she used both hands to stab the blue blade into the metal. 

An unholy sound came from the box, like lightning screaming, causing everyone to recoil. When they recovered from the initial shock, they looked at the lightsaber, which was... _ crumbling _ around itself from the force she applied, as Ahsoka continued pressing it into the metal. 

She finally stopped, pulling the lightsaber off the box. While it had just looked like it was crumbling, the lightsaber was back to normal when she pulled it off of it. But the box similarly looked nearly untouched, save for a tiny indentation in the box, which gave every Jedi in the room a slightly queasy feeling. 

Kanan was the first to speak after the impromptu demonstration, and he articulated the general question of the room. 

“What...the  _ hell _ ...is that.”

Ahsoka sighed. “ _ That _ was my question when I first tried to reopen it after leaving the garrison. I have a theory, but I’d prefer if we had an expert.” 

She turned to Kanan. “Hera mentioned that you have a Mandalorian in your crew?” 

The Jedi nodded, and leaned out the door of the Mantis. “SABINE! We need your help!” He shouted, causing Ahsoka to tilt her head in confusion at him. 

“Gimme a minute!” came a distant voice.

“What are you doing!?!” 

“Just give me...HA,  _ SABACC  _ YOU KRIFFING NERFHERDER, PAY UP!!” 

“You’re cheating!” Shouted Greez from the other side of the clearing as Cal and Cere quietly tried to pretend like they couldn’t hear them. 

“ _ CHEATING _ ?!?! I have  _ three  _ family members who’d  _ knife  _ you for that you-” “Sabine.” interrupted a quiet but serious voice near her. 

“...yes Hera, I’ll go help the Jedi.” She said petulantly. The Mandalorian growled at the four armed pilot loud enough for the Jedi to hear. “I want my winnings when I get back you-” “ _ Sabine _ .” “Alright, alright…”

* * *

She was still grumbling when she got to the mantis, angry mutters filtering through of “Being a kriffing polymath isn’t cheating you second rate four-armed gambler-” Kanan coughed loudly, and Sabine found that she was standing in front of the last remnants of the illustrious Jedi Order...who were all pointedly pretending not to have heard her call one of their pilots something seriously resembling a racial slur. 

Right next to her, she could hear Ezra snickering, and Sabine’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment, to the point where she almost considered putting her helmet on.

She elbowed Ezra in the side and stormed in. 

Sabine coughed, and spoke quietly. “Yeah, sorry. I’m here. What do you guys need?” 

Ahsoka, who’d been looking at Sabine curiously ever since Kanan had first called for her, shook herself out of her reverie, and spoke quickly. 

“We need you to tell us what this box is made of.” 

The Mandalorian looked at her in confusion, before shrugging, and putting down her helmet. 

She grabbed the box, holding it up to her head and shaking it slightly. She gazed at the metal, before gently rapping it on the table. Sabine perked up at the noise, and tried it again, before laying it down, seemingly satisfied. 

Sabine pulled out two of her paint sprayers, gripping one in her teeth, before tagging a corner with the other, waiting for a second, then quickly removed the color with a quick swipe of her glove. 

Her eyes narrowed, and she put the sprayer back in her pocket, before taking the one between her teeth out of her mouth, and spraying the same corner. This time, the yellow paint didn’t wipe off easily, and she blinked several times in surprise. 

Finally, she picked up the box, and held it to her face, gazing deeply into the box. Her eyes seemed to drift into the material, slowly getting sucked in as her face got closer and closer.

And when she got within inches of the box...she licked it. 

Her eyes went wide as she slammed the box down and whipped her head to the jedi around her. 

“This is  _ beskar _ , where the  _ hell  _ did you get this?!?!”

* * *

There was a silence around the table, with most of the jedi just looking confused, and vaguely concerned, while Ahsoka just looked contemplative. 

Naturally, the one to break the silence was Ezra. 

“So...uh...are we just going to ignore that Sabine licked the box?” 

Cal promptly lost whatever cool he’d cultivated over the past several minutes and broke out into snickers while Kanan tried desperately to not follow suit. 

Sabine on the other hand, was near red with embarrassment. 

“I didn’t-I-It’s a legitimate forensic technique! Beskar tastes like credits!” She stuttered at the jedi, who were trying  _ very  _ hard to preserve her dignity. 

“‘Forensic technique’? I don’t remember  _ that  _ at the Imperial Academy.” Ezra said sarcastically, earning a snort from Merrin, and a glare from his annoyed crewmember. 

“I-what-it’s-It’s a mandalorian thing! In Mando families we all have to know what the beskar’s like, it’s strength, its flexibility, beskar is our  _ blood _ .” She huffed, looking like she was about to throw the box at Ezra. 

“Wait, your  _ family  _ huffs metal too?” At that point even Ahsoka looked like she’d be on the verge of laughing, and Sabine reared up to give her crewmate a proper Mandalorian beatdown. 

“Come here, you little-”

Luckily, Kanan had managed to recover enough to put himself between the two, and used the Force to separate them, earning himself petulant frowns from the Mandalorian. 

“Hey-Hey, stop  _ it _ .” Kanan said, finally glaring Sabine back into professionalism. “Knock off the antics you two.” He directed at both of them. “Are you  _ sure  _ it’s beskar?” 

“Yeah? Why?” She said, looking at him in annoyance, given that  _ she  _ was the expert on Mandalorian iron in the room. 

“Because I’ve fought Mandalorians, and your armor has never done  _ this _ .” He said, whipping out his lightsaber, and driving it into the box. 

Sabine’s eyes went wide as the lightsaber began doing the strange crumbling effect that Ahsoka’s blade had. 

He finally deactivated the blade, and she gazed at the box, whose only visible change had been a change in the surface patterns on the top. She waved a hand over the point of contact, and found the air cool and light. 

“Holy shit…” She whispered into the box. 

“So, not Mandalorian iron?” Kanan said quickly, but Sabine, and surprisingly, Ahsoka, were both shaking their heads. 

“No...no this is  _ definitely _ Beskar.” She said, with near reverence. “I’ve never…” 

“Sabine…” Kanan started, prompting her to respond. 

“Okay, okay, listen.” She said quickly. “There’s only so much beskar in the universe, right?” 

Kanan, and some of the other less professional jedi in the room, rolled their eyes. “Obviously. That’s how physics works” 

She continued. “Well, all the  _ good  _ beskar deposits were obviously on Mandalore. And all of them were used up ages and ages ago, back when the planet was green, and lush, and we didn’t kill jedi for sport.” 

The last comment earned her some raised eyebrows, but they let her continue.

“We use that beskar to make legendary armor, the kind of armor that could go toe to toe with the Jedi, and coincidentally around the same time, we start multiple wars with the Jedi and try to take over the galaxy.” 

Said jedi rolled their eyes again, and Kanan gestured for her to move on.

“Well, fast forward several hundred years, all the good beskar’s gone, but Mandalore’s still fighting, so the brilliant idiots, instead of, oh I don’t know, stopping the fighting, instead start mining the shittier beskar deposits on Mandalore. Fast forward another couple decades, and some more brilliant idiots start reforging old armor to pass down through families. And even diluted beskar still kicks enough ass to be useful, because beskar is magic and should be worshiped.” she finished offhandedly.

She tapped the armor on her chest. “This armor’s five hundred years old, and it’s  _ still  _ better than anything stormtroopers carry.” Distantly, someone muttered that stormtrooper armor  _ really  _ isn’t the highest bar for personal protection, but she ignored them. 

Sabine continued on, still gesturing at her armor, but this time vaguely caressing it. “But...over the years, all the beskar was mined, and now pretty much  _ any  _ beskar left is diluted a thousand times over from reforging, and from having to armor entire families with dwindling stockpiles. Our armor’s  _ good _ , but it’s not  _ legendary, _ not like it was during the Mandalorian wars.”

She finally looked at the box again, and ran her thumb over the edge where she’d tagged it with paint. “But this...this…” 

Her finger stopped, and her expression began to harden. “This...has blood on it.” she whispered.

“This is worth more than a king’s ransom on Mandalore. To get enough pure beskar for this box you’d need to get a thousand tons of ore, from the first beskar deposit found in a hundred years, or to melt a hundred suits of…” She looked up at the people around her. “ _ Nobody _ gets this much beskar without blood. Where. Did. You. Get. It.” She said forcefully.

The various Jedi refused to look her in the eye, except for Ahsoka, who had a sad expression on her face. 

“You  _ know  _ where this came from.” She said quietly.

Sabine slowly lifted her hand off the box like she’d just realized her limb was dunked in a vat of spiders, and she shook it gently.

“...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. “What is the Empire keeping in this box?” 

The Jedi all looked at each other, uncomfortable. Kanan and Ezra in particular stared at Ahsoka, silently pleading with her. When she nodded, Kanan spoke. 

“A device that finds Force-sensitive children.” 

“...you can test for the Force?” She said, surprised. 

Kanan smiled. “The Jedi Order is as old as Mandalore. We have... _ secrets _ . Some even the Empire doesn’t know about.” He turned to the box with concern. “Evidently, this was not one of them.” 

He sighed. “Now we just need to figure out what to do with it.”

“We destroy it.” Cal said firmly. 

The others looked to him in surprise, but he met their gazes evenly. Rather than meeting the opposition he expected, the various jedi around him were all nodding. 

The most surprising disagreement came from Sabine, who looked around at them, confused. 

“What? Why? Can’t you use this Force-detector to find some new Jedi?” She paused, realizing she had the room’s attention. “I mean...the Rebellion could use more Jedi like you guys.” She finished meekly. “Even if they’re only as good as Ezra.” 

“Hey!” He said, earning him a kick from Sabine. 

Cere was the one to actually respond to the Mandalorian. “Jedi training best starts early. The earlier a child can be conditioned to turn from the Dark Side, the better. And…” 

Nobody met Sabine’s eyes. 

Cal spoke. “Those children with the Force...we can’t bring them into this life. Not in good conscience. They’re safer with their families.” 

The Mandalorian didn’t say anything, and raised an eyebrow at Kanan, before looking at Ezra, and back again. 

“Hey!” 

Kanan interrupted him before he could continue. “Ezra could make his own decisions for himself when we found him.” Ezra smirked, “...and the Empire already found him.” The boy’s smirk dropped slightly. 

“Plus, Ezra was pretty old for Jedi training.” Kanan said quickly. 

“ _ Ezra _ was old for Jedi training?” Sabine said incredulously, and the boy in question looked torn between being insulted, and concerned. “Just how old are Jedi trainees supposed to be, exactly?”

The jedi in the room continued to refuse to meet her, Ezra’s, or Merrin’s gazes. 

“Kanan…” Ezra started, sensing unease. “When did Jedi normally start training?”

“...” Kanan sighed. “Six or younger.” 

Ahsoka chimed in. “My master was nine, and he barely qualified.” 

There was an awkward silence that filled the room. Merrin and Sabine looked at them in anger, while Ezra just looked disgusted. 

“So you took children from their  _ families _ ?” He growled, as Sabine gently put a hand on his shoulder. 

Cere was the one who spoke up. 

“We...we didn’t  _ take  _ children.” She said quietly. “We  _ asked  _ their parents if they wanted to send their children to the Order...when we could. Many of the Order were Force Sensitive orphans that Jedi found on their travels, who had no guardians to convince.” 

“What kind of self respecting parents would send their children away?” Ezra continued, as the three who’d never set foot in the Jedi Temple glared at those who had. 

Ahsoka’s soft voice broke through the quiet anger. “The Jedi Temple...it was  _ better  _ than so much of the Republic. Abundant food, good medicine, any need you wanted, it would be fulfilled. It was a place of light, and love.” She sighed wistfully. “It wasn’t perfect. But it was  _ so  _ much better than huge swathes of the Republic.” 

Cere spoke up. “We promised those parents that their children would never starve. Never want for food, and they would spend their lives helping the galaxy.” She shrugged sadly. “Most parents didn’t even question it after hearing that. Some  _ begged  _ us to take them before we finished the first sentence.” 

Ezra looked convinced, as had Merrin who had adopted a sad look, but Sabine still looked wary. 

“No self-respecting parent would let some strange order take their kids.” she said to Cere.

The jedi master sighed. “Some weren’t self-respecting.” She looked into Sabine’s eyes. “Imagine that you never heard of the Force from Kanan. Imagine that you have a child, and one day, the child starts levitating knives off the countertop. When  _ you  _ feel bad, they can sense that and throw tantrums. Imagine how you feel when your child mysteriously seems to  _ always  _ know what you’re thinking.”

Sabine’s eyes widened slightly. “...they were afraid.”

“Not all. There were  _ many  _ good parents of force-sensitives.” Cere smiled slightly. “But...that  _ was  _ a factor. Not everyone understood what the Force was.” 

Cal piped in. “And Jedi weren’t cut off from their homeworlds, or families.” 

Ahsoka cleared her throat. “Technically. There were...complications. Say, if it was dangerous to go back to their homeworld. Family members of Jedi were targets, so often Jedi rarely returned. But there was no explicit rule against it, once you were of age.”

Sabine finally nodded in understanding, with identical expressions on Merrin and Ezra. 

A quiet settled onto the group again for the umpteenth time. 

“Speaking of danger…” Cal started. “We should destroy it.”

Ezra broke in again. “But I thought you said finding Jedi children was a  _ good  _ thing.” 

“That was before the Empire.” Kanan said quietly. “When we had ten thousand Jedi Knights, we could promise their parents that their children could be safe.” 

“And we couldn’t even keep  _ that  _ promise.” Cere whispered, as Cal placed a hand on her shoulder. 

In the absence of words, Merrin finally spoke up. “This...this is a part of your culture. You said it took a  _ thousand  _ generations to make this…’test’. This could keep your Order  _ alive _ .” She growled. “If your order is so great, why not bring it  _ back? _ ” She pleaded.

The Nightsister looked at them in confusion and concern, before deciding that she couldn’t get enough from their expressions, and she dipped into the Force. But, surprisingly, she just found the same emotions in the Force as she did on their faces. Bittersweet regret, and determination. 

Kanan spoke first. “A culture is nothing if we don’t remember what we’re fighting  _ for _ .” 

Cere continued. “If the Jedi Order dies, we will die without the blood of children on our hands.” 

Ahsoka just smiled wanly in agreement. 

Merrin on the other hand, gazed at them in disbelief, before suddenly storming off of the ship. 

“I’ll take care of her.” Cal said quickly, “You know my stance, go on without me.” 

They nodded, and turned back to the conversation as he left. “If we agree it needs to be destroyed, I can take care of this.” Ahsoka said evenly. “...but I can’t give any specifics without compromising contacts, and I need to leave immediately. Do you trust me?”

Cere looked unsure, but Kanan nodded. “Hera trusts you, so I trust you.” Sabine took the pause to glare at him slightly, before he continued. “Take the Phantom, bring it back in one piece, and wipe the nav logs.”

Ahsoka looked at Cere, her question etched across her face.

The jedi master sighed. “Cal trusts Kanan, so I trust you too.” She closed her eyes in pain. “Get out of here, before we reconsider.” 

The Togruta nodded, and quickly left, leaving the box unattended on the table while she went to prep the ship.

* * *

Back in the Mantis, while Ahsoka was explaining the situation to Hera, and the rest of the jedi had left to meditate, Ezra snuck into the common room.

His eyes shifted to the box lying in the middle of the table. 

A quick twist of his head confirmed that nobody was around him. He gently lifted the box to head height. Ezra tilted his head, then the box, then both. He gazed deeply into the swirling patterns in the beskar.

The box came closer and closer to his face, until...he licked it. 

He recoiled slightly, face screwed up in confusion, before patting the top of his mouth with his tongue several times. 

“Huh, really does taste like credits…” He said offhandedly, earning a snicker from his side. 

Ezra froze. 

He slowly turned to his left, to find Sabine staring at him, devilish grin covering her face. 

“...uh oh.” 

“WHO’S ‘HUFFING METAL’ NOW, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!” She said as she ran forward, grabbing him in a headlock and vigorously applying noogies to the poor padawan’s head, before jumping onto his back like a particularly well armed monkey.

“AH! Cut it out!” He said as he floundered, swaying back and forth as she kept her hold on him. 

“APOLOGIZE TO ME! APOLOGIZE FOR DEFAMING MY ANCESTORS!” She shouted from her perch on his back.

“I’M NOT APOLOGIZING TO YOUR BESKAR-HUFFING ANCESTORS!” He yelled.

“JETI’IKA YOU ARE ASKING FOR IT!” She responded as she increased the ferocity of the hair tousling to sandpaper levels, with the sudden shift causing him to fall backwards on the floor with her and roll under a table.

There is silence for long seconds, as neither is visible from under the furniture, before a weak voice pipes up from the floor.

“Give. Up. Yet…” She huffed in exhaustion. 

“THE FORCE IS WITH ME!” He cried weakly before croaking with the sound of more noogies. A scuffling ensues before the telltale thunk of someone crashing their head into the table echoes across the ship. 

“Ow, SHIT” “Dammit, Ezra!” “How’s this my fault?” “Oh, just let us out of here…” Sabine finished petulantly, before both rolled out from under the table, rubbing their bruises. 

“...”

“...” 

They both sheepishly looked away from each other, eyes dancing around literally anywhere else besides the other. Eventually, both locked on the box again. 

“...you know, I wonder how Ahsoka’s gonna destroy this thing, if lightsabers can’t crack it.” 

“That’s...huh…” Sabine said, staring at the box in front of her. She grabbed it, pulling it up, staring onto it. Her eyes carefully tracing every curve and swipe of oil across it. She almost seemed like she was trying to unravel the mysteries of the-”Ezra did you lick the  **exact** same spot I did?” 

“What?!?” Ezra started, genuinely offended. “No I didn’t!” 

“Yes you  **did** !” Sabine growled as she looked closer, before throwing the box to the side, and rushing for the boy. “COME HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!”

“AH! Get away from me!” Ezra started running from her, with surprising success given the tiny confines of the Mantis. They were halfway to Cal’s lightsaber workbench when Sabine managed to grab his collar, and the telltale sound of a box being picked up and moved. 

“FUCK.” Sabine paused, and let Ezra go, running back to the main hatch. “Ahsoka, wait up!” She shouted. 

“...wonder what that was about?” Ezra said to himself, finally shrugging, before walking back to the main portion of the ship, moving his tongue around around his mouth again, trying to cleanse the aftertaste as he whispered to himself.

“Really does taste like credits…” He muttered to himself.

* * *

Ahsoka was cornered by Sabine after she came back for the box, as the former padawan walked back to the ship. The Mandalorian huffed from running to catch her, hand lightly rubbing her head in annoyance, before she grabbed her quarry’s shoulder, slowing Ahsoka down 

“Exactly how are you getting rid of this box?” 

Ahsoka stared at her, indecision on her face, as she continued trying to move forward. “I can’t tell you.” 

“I have  _ never  _ seen anything stop a lightsaber like that.” Sabine said quickly, moving in front of her. “There’s not a forge in the Empire that can crack that box, and it’s welded shut from the inside from whatever locking mechanism  _ you  _ triggered by accident.” She said, poking her in the chest, finger finding itself in the center of the grey outline of an iron heart on Ahsoka’s blue uniform. “The best you can do is bury it in the deepest, darkest hole you can find, and hope nobody finds it...in...this...century...” Sabine trailed off, gazing at Ahsoka’s chest. 

The former padawan gave her a smirk. “There’s no forge in the  _ Empire  _ that can crack this box, Sabine Wren. Now, I must leave quickly.” She said, pushing past her towards the Ghost. 

Something in the Force tickled the edge of Ahsoka’s senses, like walking unexpectedly into a bar on the seediest levels of Coruscant. 

She closed her eyes, and listened. 

“Sabine.” She said without looking behind her at the mandalorian. “Please take your hand off your weapon.”

“...how did you know my clan name.” She said quietly, pointedly ignoring her request, with one hand holding her helmet, and the other on her pistol. “I told Hera to never share my full name.” 

Ahsoka tilted her head back in the universal symbol of ‘Well...shit.’ 

She took a deep breath, but when she finished, she turned to look at Sabine through the side of her gaze. The Togruta had a sad expression on her face. 

“I fought with your mother in the Siege of Mandalore.” Sabine visibly started. “Ursa is a great warrior, and... _ was _ ...an acquaintance.”

Sabine’s hand was more relaxed now, but the other’s grip on her helmet still had a deathgrip. 

“That was before I was born. How’d you recognize  _ me _ .” 

Ahsoka turned back around, walking forward and gently raising a hand to Sabine’s face to almost cradle it. She gave her a sorrowful look that sent a pang of guilt into the Mandalorian’s gut for reasons she couldn’t explain. 

“Sabine…” She started. “...I don’t think you realize how impactful your actions were on Mandalore.” 

“I just joined the Rebels.” She said quickly, heart throbbing in her chest. “That’s not a big deal.” 

“That wasn’t what I was talking about.” Ahsoka said, somehow clarifying and obscuring her meaning. 

Sabine took Ahsoka’s hand, and gently moved it away from her face. “Whatever I did, it doesn’t matter now.” She looked away. “I’m not a member of Clan Wren anymore.” 

Ahsoka’s spare hand that wasn’t holding the box found itself on Wren’s shoulder. “Sabine...we  _ both  _ know that’s not how family works on Mandalore.”

She sighed, and turned to leave when Sabine called to her.

“That’s where you’re going. That’s where you’ve been  _ staying _ . Mandalore.” 

She couldn’t see it, but Ahsoka smiled. “You are far smarter than anyone realizes, Sabine.” 

She shrugged. “I mean, you are wearing a  _ Beskaryc Kar'ta _ on your chest.” 

Ahsoka chuckled slightly. “Yes, I suppose the Mandalorian Iron Heart is fairly distinctive.” She turned and gave Sabine a conspiratorial smirk “Don’t worry, I ‘borrowed’ a poncho from Cal to cover that.” 

The mandalorian tilted her head slightly in confusion. “...won’t he notice that you stole his clothes?”

The former padawan rolled her eyes, and kept moving. “Sabine, you have  _ no  _ idea what Cal’s wardrobe looks like.  _ Trust me _ , he won’t notice.” 

Sabine sighed. “Fair enough. Just...be careful. I haven’t been keeping up with Mandalorian news. But even out here, we’ve been hearing about Lady Kryze’s total submission to the Empire.” she finished in a growl.

The former padawan stopped at the door to the Ghost, and gripped the doorjamb tightly. 

She looked like she was going to say something when she stopped, and reconsidered. 

“I’ll be fine.” The former padawan paused, as if reconsidering something, before taking a data chip from her pocket, and tossing it to her, walking away. “Give that to Kanan, they can deal with that while I deal with this damn box.”

The Mandalorian gave a casual salute to her back, and walked away, before stopping for a second to watch as the Phantom started to take off.

* * *

Cal found Merrin waiting out in clearing, sitting at the same spot she’d occupied earlier when she watched his bout with Kanan. 

“Merrin?” He said carefully. “You okay?” 

She sighed. “I...don’t know…”

“Want to talk about it?” 

“Not particularly.” She said.

Cal sat next to her, and leaned back, just waiting. 

They sat there in silence for a good minute, as vague noises came from the Mantis, and the Ghost. Cal finally fell back completely on the grass, and just looked up at the dark night sky.

“Force, this world is so pretty.” He started, gazing upwards.

“Pardon?” She said quietly. 

“Here, come look.” He said, patting the ground next to him, and she carefully laid down, before gazing upwards. 

Above them shone a thousand gleaming stars, arcing like a dome above them. 

“They didn’t have stars on Bracca.” Cal said quietly. 

He could feel her bewilderment at his statement, and though she couldn’t see it, he smiled. 

“Bracca’s a planet of continuous storms.” he said, in clarification. “It’s why the Separatists, and the Empire wanted it. Any ship that stays there corrodes over time. Makes it a great scrapworld and fortress, because everything that lands is on a timer before it's useless.” 

He sighed and continued to look up. “But one negative...all the clouds block the stars. Months fighting on the surface, years working that scrapheap, never saw a single star.” He paused, and shrugged slightly. “...come to think of it, I think Bracca corroded me, too.” 

Merrin didn’t say anything, they just quietly watched the stars above them.

Cal gently prodded. “We’ve done this before. It’s no different than destroying that holocron. What’s different?” 

She shuffled slightly. “I...I guess...there are  _ more  _ of you now.”

“‘You’?” 

“Jedi.” She said quietly. “All of you seem so... _ happy _ ...to be together. It just feels...”

She sighed. “It feels like your Order  _ can  _ come back.” She paused. “And then…”

They were silent for what felt like an eternity when she finally broke it. 

“...why do your people get so many chances to come back?” she said, almost angry.

Cal smiled sadly. “I don’t know.” 

“Yet  _ every  _ time, you all refuse.” she prodded.

The jedi shrugged. “I...yes...I suppose we have.” 

Merrin’s hand reached over her chest, and she gently caressed the amulet laying there. 

“...if I had the chance, I would  _ take  _ it.” She whispered. “Any Nightsister would. The Sisterhood comes before all else.” 

Cal turned to her, and just gazed at Merrin for several seconds before looking back at the night sky. 

“I don’t think so. Not like this.” He said softly. “Not at the expense of children.” 

She gripped her talisman tightly. “ _ Any _ Nightsister would.”

He smiled in a sad way only jedi could. “Somehow, I think you would be the exception.” 

Cal could hear her heavy breathing, but he kept his eyes on the sky, preserving her privacy. 

“Why?” She said through hacking breaths. “Why throw away your Order like this. If it supposedly did so much  _ good _ ...” 

Her friend just lightly grabbed her free hand, and she froze. With his other, Cal pointed to the sky. 

“Do you know why I missed the stars on Bracca?” The Jedi said quietly. “It’s not because they’re  _ old _ .” He paused. “It’s because they  _ shine _ .”

He pointed more specifically to a particularly bright star off to the north. “No matter the darkness, even  _ one  _ star still stands out as a bright light in the darkness,” 

Cal sighed. “...no matter how short their life.”

He lowered his hand. “It hurts. It really  _ hurts  _ to destroy more Jedi history.” He continued with a tinge of anger in his tone. “The Empire has taken  _ so  _ much from us. And now we have to  _ burn  _ more of our own legacy just to keep the Empire from taking more.” 

Her friend sighed. “But...we would rather be remembered as heroes, than live with the shame that we knowingly put innocents in danger. More than the lightsabers, more than the Force,  _ that  _ is what it means to be a Jedi.” 

He pressed his eyes shut in pain, before speaking again. 

“But  _ Force _ , does it hurt…”

Merrin gave his hand a quick squeeze of encouragement, and they just stayed quiet, gazing at the stars as her breaths calmed.

“...Cal?” She said, just loud enough for him to hear. 

“Yeah?” 

“...I miss my people.” 

“Yeah…” he said, water trickling down his face. “...me too.”

* * *

Ahsoka was careful as she entered Mandalorian space, double checking that the Phantom’s signature was dampened, and she triple checked that she entered the right clearance codes when passing by the Imperial Star Destroyer parked in orbit. 

When she finally got within sight of the black domed city of Sundari, and was landed in a discreet hangerbay, she breathed a sigh of relief, before tossing a nondescript blue poncho over herself, and pulling up the hood. 

Two armed guards met her on the docking bay, their dark blue and grey Mandalorian armor contrasting well in the sterile light of the enclosed hanger bay. 

She shifted her arm so the box could more easily fit under it, and nodded for them to lead the way, where they brought her to various out of the way elevators and passages, until finally they reached an opulent room with great towering windows lining it’s walls. 

At the end of the room stood a throne, where a woman in red hair, green eyes, full grey Mandalorian armor, and blue shoulderpads, was sitting, conversing with two attendants. When she saw Ashoka’s hooded figure enter the room, she froze, and quickly turned to the people with her, and her guards. 

“Leave us.” 

With a bow, all four left the room, and with a push of a button, the large windows tinted to allow no light inside or out. Simultaneously, every door shut with a pneumatic hiss, as the artificial lights activated, giving the entire throne room a serious atmosphere. 

Ahsoka walked up to the throne, and pulled the hood off her head, before kneeling in front of her. 

The former padawan held out the metal box to the woman sitting on the throne, and she spoke in a respectful tone.

“Lady Bo Katan, I come bearing your Beskar.” 

The regent in question paused, running her hands over the metal, almost caressing it. 

“Good.” She replied. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all exposition presented is canonically accurate per se, but it's my personal interpretation based off my own view of Star Wars. As such, all the stuff in this chapter related to lore isn't necessarily going to be 100% guaranteed to be TRUE, but they should at least be 100% PLAUSIBLE. I try to stick vaguely to canon when I can, but if a new comic comes out contradicting the stuff on midichlorians, I'm probably not going to lose any sleep. 
> 
> I'll be happy to discuss the minutiae of the Force and Jedi practices in the comment sections if you have any questions!


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